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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26825269">The Course of Love Never Did Run Smooth</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelERZ/pseuds/PastelERZ'>PastelERZ</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>ABO BatFamily [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), DCU, DCU (Comics), Justice League - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Bruce Wayne, Alpha Dick Grayson, Alpha Jason Todd, Alpha Joker (DCU), Alpha Jonathan Samuel Kent, Alpha Kon-El | Conner Kent, Alpha Oliver Queen, Alpha Ra's al Ghul, Alpha Talia al Ghul, Alpha black canary/Dinah, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Drama in General, Family Drama, Fluff, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Jason and Roy have Lian young, M/M, Mating Bites, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Nesting, Omega Damian Wayne, Omega Harley Quinn, Omega Roy Harper, Omega Tim Drake, Omega Wally West, Parenthood, Possible smut later on, Primarily a jayroy story, Romance, Suicide Attempt, Tragedy, You've been warned, all that other good abo stuffs, or he really tries to be</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:47:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26825269</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelERZ/pseuds/PastelERZ</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>《 Jason sighed, “About twenty minutes… It should be done by now…”</p><p>Roy felt a wave of dread pooling in his gut, “Oh…goody…” He moved to get up, but Jason stopped him. He set Roy back down on the floor and got up to check the test before Roy could, and Roy let him. He wasn’t exactly excited to see the results yet. Jason stood at the sink for a moment looking back and forth from the test to the box, double and triple checking to make sure he was reading it right before Jason sighed with a hint of a frustrated growl. And that was all Roy needed to see to know what the results were, he whined loudly, “It’s positive huh?” Roy could feel another round of tears getting ready to go.》<br/>~<br/>Or Roy really wasn't expecting things to escalate so quickly with Jason Todd. But now, here he is, taking care of their daughter Lian!<br/>If only the drama had ended there... but thats never the case when the bat clan is involved.</p><p>(Read warnings in the tags pls)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Batfamily Members &amp; Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Wally West, Dinah Lance/Oliver Queen, Jonathan Samuel Kent/Damian Wayne, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>ABO BatFamily [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048867</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>115</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. First Steps in the Wrong Direction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Roy Harper is an absolute idiot, or at least that’s what was currently running through his mind right now as he sits on the bathroom floor of some run-down motel. He was aware of the alpha leaning into him with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, that was one Jason Todd, but working up the nerve to say anything to the younger alpha was seeming to be a nearly impossible task. Eventually mustered a soft, “You better not light that…”</p><p>Jason looked over with concerned eyes as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and tossed it aside, “Roy…” Clearly Jason was having a hard time trying to speak up as well. Roy looked over and he say that Jason was trembling just slightly and the sight of it reminded Roy how real this all was and he whined, tears welling up in his eyes, “Don’t look at me like that…! I’m already freaking out as it is…”</p><p>Jason took a slow breath before reaching over to rest his hand on Roy’s as he nuzzled the mating mark on the crook of Roy’s neck. Roy sobbed and clung to Jason’s hand, bring it to his nose to inhale as much of the alpha’s calming scent as he could. He panicked as he thought about how exactly he had gotten into this situation.</p><p>Roy figured that it probably started back about a year ago. He was sporadically working with the Titans from time to time, and after a rather simple mission (more of a clean-up really) Dick had invited him over to Gotham for a few days. Admittedly Roy only agreed because he had a miniscule crush on the vigilante. After all, who wasn’t at least slightly attracted to Dick. He was lean, flexible, and unbearably handsome. And by all means he was pretty passive for an Alpha, a very endearing trait. But went he got to the Wayne Manor he was quickly introduced to Dicks younger brother. Another Alpha of course, but at the time Jason had just barely present, as he was 15 years old, a relatively normal age to present. And with Jason being 4 years younger than Dick, that made Jason his junior by two years. At first Roy wasn’t truly into Jason yet, sure the guy was cute, but Roy wasn’t really interested in dating an Alpha that was younger than him, even if it was by two years.</p><p>From the first moment that Roy had presented as an omega, he frequently fantasized about having a kind and large alpha, one that’d spoil the shit out of him. But clearly Jason took an immediate interest in Roy. At first Roy would only catch a few shy glances from the second Robin during a Titan’s meeting or while he was lounge about the various houses/hideouts that they occasionally bumped into each other in. Then came Jason’s attempts at flirting, it was obvious by that point that the alpha was courting him, and surprisingly Roy accepted it. Jason was cute, and Roy was curious to see just how far the other would go. So he accepted it merely on a whim, and he had no idea just how hard he’d fall.</p><p>First it was Jason’s scent that captured him, until then it was necessary for everyone in the league and the titans to wear scent blockers so that civilians or any undesirables couldn’t sniff them out so easily. So, the first time he encountered Jason without his scent blockers was a sucker punch to the nose. Jason had smelt sort of musky, in the way that all alphas did, the first thing he was able to really pin down was the fainted whiff of cigarettes, then he caught the distinct smell of Gotham on Jason. It was a scent that all the Gotham-mites he knew had, but it seemed to be an especially potent on Jason, it gave Jason a fierce edge. But under that it had been balanced out by the soft and welcoming scent of old books, freshly baked breads, and spices. Roy must’ve sniffed for far too long, because he remembered the cherry red blush that graced Jason’s cheeks and how flustered the poor alpha had been for the rest of the day after that.</p><p>That was the second thing he loved about Jason, just how easily the other would get flustered. He was all sarcasm and bite, but one compliment and the poor boy crumbled into a mess and Roy though it was adorable. He liked how strong yet kind Jason was. Just as he liked watching the alpha spar or fight with the ferocity of someone on the verge of going feral, he equally liked the calm and tranquil moments where they sat and Jason read his favorite books with a soft grin on his face. That was the other thing, Jason was a surprisingly huge book-nerd. The guy genuinely liked to read shit like Shakespeare in his free time and Roy had to respect that.</p><p>Then there were the courting gifts. Dear god, the courting gifts were perfect. Jason had made a point of bringing something every time they met up, primarily little things like flowers or Roy’s favorite snacks that he’d mentioned in passing. The small gifts were relatively normal, it was the consistency with which that Jason had provided that really got to Roy. He felt so taken care of and appreciated, Roy had to admit that feeding in to his omega instincts to be protected and cared for was a dirty trick (he never let Jason forget that) but that didn’t change the fact that he loved every bit of it. Then there were the bigger gifts, of course they weren’t as frequent, that only made them all the more special. These gifts consisted of things like nesting items, and really practical things. For example, one of his favorites had been a specialty bow, more specifically a long bow that Roy found perfect for stealth missions since the range on the thing was at least triple that of his usual bow. Other examples were medical adhesive sprays to take care of any wounds he got during missions with the Titans. Jason had made a point of making sure to supply Roy with literally anything to help the omega take care of himself both at home and on the field. The sentiment was really obvious and cheesy, and Roy fucking loved how subtly protective the alpha was. At that point it was obvious that Jason would literally do anything for Roy and Roy was sure he’d do the same for Jason.</p><p>Before he really realized it, a year had passed, he and Jason had become joined at the hip, and he was loving it. When Jason’s 16<sup>th</sup> birthday finally came, Roy had decided to make it official. He spoiled Jason thoroughly that night, it started with a nice and casual date at Jason’s favorite diner in Gotham. Then he presented Jason with a new stack of classic literature for Jason to burn through. Then they went to the edge of town and talked for god knows how long. That night Roy impulsively let (more like begged) Jason to mark him. Another decision he had made in the spur of the moment.</p><p>The day after instant-regret settled in. Nobody knew that the pair were a pair and now they were both now sporting marks that they were too young to be wearing. Jason responded to Roy’s panic with a cockiness that was just so… <em>Jason</em>. Roy remembered how the alpha simple held him and smiled, “Why don’t we just disappear for a bit? Until we’re ready to explain this. “Roy had thought that he couldn’t love Jason more than he already did until that moment. That moment reassured Roy that their newly formed bond wasn’t a mistake, but they were still pretty young, and Bruce and Oliver would definitely not take this whole thing very well. They got in Roy’s car and Jason drove them out of Gotham and to a motel in Bludhaven.</p><p>That had been a nearly two months ago now. Roy wasn’t planning on hiding for this long, he really hadn’t! But confronting his family, his pack’s, Alpha was turning out to be more daunting than expected now that he also had to explain his disappearance. And then there was Bruce fucking Wayne, motherfucking Batman. He would have to confront that Alpha as well. He and Jason probably should’ve thought into this decision some more. Sure, they’re happily mated now, after all, living in this janky motel with Jason has been the best couple of months of his life. But that didn’t change that He and Jason had mated without permission from their pack’s alphas. They didn’t necessarily need permission, Jason constantly reminded him, but it was important to Roy. Roy knew that for alphas like Oliver and Bruce, who both came from wealthy and prestigious families, would value tradition pack values, and tradition pack/family values meant that no decision should be made without the input of the rest of the pack, especially for a pair as young as Roy and Jason.</p><p>And now here they were, sitting in a shitty motel bathroom waiting for a damned pregnancy test to give them some results. Roy was still sobbing when he came back from his tangent into the past year or so and sniffled loudly. He took a few deep breaths to settle himself before looking at Jason again. Now Jason had pulled the slightly larger Omega onto his lap and continued to nuzzle the mark from that position. Roy smiled a little at the tenderness of his alpha, “Hey. How long has it been shorty?” Roy smirked a little, he really needed to relax, and he was hoping the jab at Jason’s height would help relax Jason too.</p><p>Jason growled playfully, “Watch it. One of these days I’m gonna sprout and I’ll be way bigger than you. Then I’ll make you regret this slander.” Jason pulled away to smile at Roy.</p><p>Roy laughed a little, “Sure you are. Now answer the question.”</p><p>Jason sighed, “About twenty minutes… It should be done by now…”</p><p>Roy felt a wave of dread pooling in his gut, “Oh…goody…” He moved to get up, but Jason stopped him. He set Roy back down on the floor and got up to check the test before Roy could, and Roy let him. He wasn’t exactly excited to see the results yet. Jason stood at the sink for a moment looking back and forth from the test to the box, double and triple checking to make sure he was reading it right before Jason sighed with a hint of a frustrated growl. And that was all Roy needed to see to know what the results were, he whined loudly, “It’s positive huh?” Roy could feel another round of tears getting ready to go.</p><p>Jason nodded and sat back down next to Roy with a loud thud. He started rubbing at his eyes, most likely to quell any tears that threated to escape. Jason whined softly, “I’m so fucking sorry…” Jason rasped out before breaking into a guilt-ridden sob, “Fuck! I’m sorry…this is my fucking fault! I shouldn’t- “</p><p>Roy grabs Jason’s hands and pulls them away from his eyes, “Hey! Stop that. We’re not getting anywhere playing the blame game okay. We both fucked up. I shouldn’t have begged for you during my heat, and you shouldn’t have indulged it…But we both did and now we’re here… “Roy’s hands trembled as he buried his face into Jason’s oil-black hair and took another breath. Every breath was a feeble attempt to combat his own panic, “…We gotta take responsibility, right?”</p><p>Jason nodded. Roy couldn’t stop the whine from leaving his throat, “You’re going to stick around, right…? You won’t leave me?” Roy wrapped his arms around Jason’s head and clung to his alpha. Jason growled protectively and wrapped his arms tightly around Roy’s waist. He looked up into Roy’s teary eyes and snarled, “Never! I’d never leave to do this alone! We’re in this together. “</p><p>“B-but what about Bruce? Or my dad? Now they’re really not going to accept this! How are we going to explain!”</p><p>Jason growled, “Fuck Bruce and fuck Oliver! If they hate this, that’s their problem. We don’t need them. I did just fine without Bruce and I can do that again to take care of you.”</p><p>Roy whined, “Jay…Babe…you know that isn’t realistic… You know better than anyone that a life on the streets isn’t good for any kid, much less two teenagers and a baby…We need help if we’re going to stick to this.”</p><p>Jason huffs, “That doesn’t change what I said. We’re already mated, they can’t undo it without really hurting us. They won’t just separate us like that…At least I hope they wouldn’t.”</p><p>“No…you’re right… They either accept it or they disown us.” Roy slumps down against Jason, already exhausted, “Now what should we do?”</p><p>Jason sat quietly for a long minute before speaking again, “We should call my brother…”</p><p>“Dick?? Really? He’ll totally freak out on us! He’ll kick my ass!”</p><p>“No he won’t. He’ll be the easiest to convince. You know how he is; he’ll be mad for like an hour, but then he’ll be bugging us for details. And we need him if we’re going to tell Bruce. And we need Bruce when we tell your dad.”</p><p>Roy looked at Jason, and sighed, that was actually a well thought out plan, “Okay, we’ll call Dick. But, not now. Tomorrow, we need to sleep first.”</p><p>Jason nodded and stood with the omega clutched tightly to him before carrying him to the temporary nest they’d made on the motel bed.</p>
<hr/><p>Dick was really fucking stressed, and that wasn’t a light statement coming from him. His brother and friend were missing, and had been missing for two whole fucking months! If they weren’t actually in danger then they’d better have a damned good explanation for basically upending the justice league. Batman and Green Arrow wear practically on a war path, tearing through every crook they knew for details. And having to deal with Police academy tests and such on top of all of that was basically unbearable.</p><p>So that afternoon, when his stress had reached its peak, that had been when his phone rang.  Dick yanked his phone out of his pocket and looked at the contact. ‘Incoming call: Jaybird’, Dick practically smashed his screen to answer before putting the phone his ear and promptly freaking out before Jason could even say hello, “Where the fuck have you been?! Are you okay??!”</p><p>Jason groaned, “Dickie stop. I’m fine alright…?”</p><p>“No, I won’t stop! You’ve been MIA for two months baby bird! Everyone is worried sick!”</p><p>“Dick, please… “Jason was lacking his usual smarminess, that was a bad sign. Dick sighs and forces himself to calm down, “Fine. Fine…Are you really alright? Like, I’m not gonna find you bleeding out somewhere right?”</p><p>“No. I’m in a motel in your city…” Dick blinked, he felt a bit dumb now thinking that Jason had been hiding out so close and he didn’t even think to look here in Bludhaven, but Jason continued, “yeah… I’m here with Roy.” Dicks mouth parted mindlessly, a dumbfounded ‘ooooh’ sound left him as he was slowly connecting the dots. And then it clicked, “Jason are you fucking kidding me?!”</p><p>“Dick I-“</p><p>“You what? Hooked up with my friend while the rest of us were running around trying to find the both of you?! Just shut up Jason. Put Roy on the phone, <em>NOW</em>.” Dick couldn’t stop the tone his voice took, he prided himself on being a calm alpha, but that didn’t mean that he never snapped at anyone. Dick waited, there was some shuffling and eventually the phone was passed to Roy, “Hello…?” Roy’s voice was quiet and nervous, as it should be.</p><p>“Roy, what the fuck are you two thinking?”</p><p>“I- I don’t know! I’m sorry- “</p><p>“Stop there. Just tell me, how deep is the pile of shit you’ve both decided to bury yourselves in?” Dick started massaging the bridge of his nose. Dick started to panic when Roy remained silent, “No…don’t tell me, He marked you already?”</p><p>Roy sniffled on the other end, “yeah…and…I’m pregnant. It’s Jason’s.”</p><p>Dick sat there quietly for a long time, at least it felt like a long time, when Roy started to panic Dick pulled the phone away from his ear and quickly hung up. Dick had to admit, that was a shitty move, but he was freaking out, he needed a moment to fucking process this bullshit. To think that his baby brother and one of his closer friends had mated behind his back, and were now dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. Dick felt a little betrayed, they should’ve come to him sooner! He wasn’t like Bruce or Oliver, he could understand. But, then again, he was freaking out and ignoring Jason’s texts. An hour later he caved and called his work to let them know he wasn’t coming back from his lunch break before texting Jason, ‘Which Motel? I’m on my way.’</p><p>Jason’s response was immediate, ‘The one across the street from that burger place you brought me to last time. ‘Dick groaned with frustration, of course he was hiding there, it’s not like Jason knew of any other Motel in Bludhaven, it should’ve been obvious when he was helping Bruce search, but now wasn’t the time to beat himself up for how hard he failed at finding them. He got in his car and drove to the motel.</p>
<hr/><p>It didn’t take Dick more than twenty minutes to get here and start pounding on the door. The scent of another Alpha approaching put Jason on edge, but he quickly quelled the urge to maim the man, that was also his brother, on the other side of the door. Instead he walked over to the door and pulled it open. He was met, face to face, with a very livid Dick Grayson. Jason held in the whine that was building in his throat, “Hey…”</p><p>Dick quickly barged in and trapped Jason in a bone-cracking hug, “Dammit Jason, I’m so glad your safe…” Any anger that was in his eyes had faded, quickly replaced by the relief that his brother wasn’t hurt or held captive by some lunatic. Jason sighed and hugged back, “I’m sorry… for everything…”</p><p>Dick pulled away, “Where’s Roy?”</p><p>“Shower.” Jason absently rubbed his tired eyes, he hadn’t really gotten any sleep last night, and went over to the temporary nest. Dick followed Jason inside and closed the door behind him before swiftly covering his nose, “Fuck, you two weren’t lying… It smells like… the both of you in here…” Jason knew what Dick was implying, and he was choosing not to engage with it.</p><p>Jason changed the topic, “So what now? You gonna drag us back to Gotham?”</p><p>Dick sighed and sat down in the closest chair, “I mean, I should, but I really don’t wanna fight with Bruce about this. He’s gonna kill you baby bird.”</p><p>“I know that…. I figured you could convince him to go easy on us…?”</p><p>Dick deadpanned, “You dug the hole Jason, I can’t just pull you out like usual. This is serious Jason! You disappear for two months and now you want to just barge back in with a pregnant mate at your side? What were you thinking?? You're too young to be messing around like that! “</p><p>“That’s rich coming from you.” Jason snapped, suddenly being judged by the older alpha was rubbing him the wrong way and he wasn’t gonna stand for it.</p><p>“Look, I’m not perfect. But at least I was smart about it! I didn’t mark anyone, and I certainly didn’t knock anyone up!” Dick defended himself.</p><p>Jason growls, “Yeah, yeah. I get it, I’m the fuck up here.”</p><p>“Jason stop, you know that’s not what I mean. I’m still gonna help as much as I can, but you know how Bruce can be. I’m just not making any promises.”</p><p>Jason rolls over to face away from Dick, “I know…” The remain like this, in total silence for about ten minutes, before Roy finally came out of the bathroom. Jason couldn’t help the goofy grin that spread on his face when he sees his beautiful Omega drying his short hair with a towel and Jason couldn’t resist the urge to bolt out of the nest and into Roy’s side as he nuzzled the mark he left on Roy, a very unsubtle display for the other alpha in the room. Jason was very aware of Roy’s past crush on Dick, so now he was reminding all of them, <em>he</em> was the one who had Roy’s heart not Dick. <em>Roy is Jason’s</em> and he was gonna make sure it stayed that way. Under the possessiveness, there was a newly formed layer of protectiveness for his pregnant mate, the new impulse to go feral on anything that even looked at his mate now was a bit overwhelming, so he really didn’t mean it when one of the most barbaric growl escaped his chest. It was so low and rumbly, that Jason didn’t think that it actually came out of his mouth, he assumed dick had been the one that growled, so he growled again, this time glaring daggers at dick. But the all froze when it was clear that that sound really was coming from Jason. Dick raised his hands in surrender, “Hey, I’m not doin’ anything, no need to get all growly babybird…” Dick was obviously a bit rattled by the whole thing, if Jason didn’t know better, he’d think he actually scared his big brother.</p><p>Roy quickly recovered with a laugh, “Damn Jay. Calm down, nobody is touching me but you. I’m fine.” Jason relaxed the muscles that he didn’t even realize had been tense this whole time and sighed, “Sorry… I didn’t mean that…”</p><p>At that Dick started laughing, “Seriously? Your already in ‘protective papa’ mode??” Dick smirks, “In that case we don’t gotta worry about a thing. Bruce will be too busy trying to keep you from going feral on him to be angry about the mating thing.”</p><p>Jason huffed, “Whatever.” He buried his face back into Roy’s mark and tried to relax. Roy reached around and gently rubbed Jason’s back. Jason smiled and purred softly. As stressed as was, he couldn’t resist Roy. But, now wasn’t the time to be getting lost in his love for his omega. He pulled away and sat back down on the bed with Roy. Jason fell back into the nest and let Roy do all the talking now.</p><p>Roy sighs, “So…Dick, I’m sorry about all of this…”</p><p>Dick shook his head, “It’s not totally your fault. I’m just upset you guys didn’t tell me sooner. I get not telling Bruce or Oliver. But, I’m not like that, I’m your friend Roy. We’ve been through a bunch of bullshit together; I don’t get why either of you wouldn’t trust me with this.”</p><p>Roy whined, “Dick… It’s not that I didn’t trust you… I just wasn’t ready for everyone to know yet… then the bond was settling and I went into heat, and the next thing I knew, Jason and I were way to deep in this to just go back right away. So, we thought it’d be better to wait…”</p><p>Dick nods, “I get it. I’ve been stressed to. But hey, that’s how it goes when you rush into getting mated Roy. I bet you didn’t even realize that letting Jason mark you would trigger you heat early huh? And I bet running of with you alpha, because I know this was all his idea, also sounded fantastic to a freshly mated omega like you.”</p><p>Roy whined, “Yeah…You right, I was too impulsive… I should’ve been the responsible one.” Jason growls at Dick, “Hey! You don’t need to be guilting him like that! Roy we already talked about this; the blame game is a waste of our fucking time. I don’t want to hear this shit from either of you again.” Jason sat up and crossed his arms</p><p>Roy nodded and Dick looked down. Jason growled again, “So, let get back on track. What’s the fucking plan?”</p><p>“Go home, obviously.”</p><p>Jason got up onto his feet, “Now?”</p><p>“Preferably.” Dick got up from his chair, “Pack up, I’ll be waiting in my car.” He didn’t leave any room for argument or hesitation as he quickly bolted out of the room and to his car. Jason looked a Roy one last time before they both started cleaning up their belongings, which hadn’t actually been much, but it was enough to leave the room quite messy.</p>
<hr/><p>They drove Roy’s car back to Gotham. Dick figured that since he lived in Bludhaven, it’d be easier for him to retrieve his car later, and he didn’t trust the pair to just follow him. He was actually kind of scared that the pair would actually jump out onto the freeway to escape the inevitable disaster that was telling Bruce about all of this.</p><p>And the way that Jason would occasionally glare at him with the ferocity of some feral beast, made him a bit nervous. Not a good position for the drive of the car to be in. Back in the motel, when Jason growled at him, Dick was actually pretty startled by that. He’d only even seen Bruce growl like that, and whenever Bruce did it, that usually ended with somebody presenting their neck in submission or getting the shit beat out of them until they did. Bruce only ever did this on the field when he or Jason were in danger, but that didn’t change how intimidating it was. And now Jason was doing it too! It was bizarre and scary. Dick just couldn’t understand what drove other alphas to be like that. He wondered if he’d understand when he finally maned up and got himself his own mate.</p><p>The entire ride was silent, and if Dick was being honest, he’d zoned out for most of it, instead focusing on the road and how he was going to manage the police academy stuff while juggling his duties as night wing. He didn’t even notice that they were at the Wayne manor until Jason growled and muttered something about Bruce.</p><p>Dick pulled up into the driveway, “Whelp. I guess this is it. It was nice knowing both of you.”</p><p>Jason growled once again, but Roy laughed, “Come on, we can’t just sit in the car.” And with that the trio got out of the car and walked into the mansion, all dreading the shitstorm they were in for now.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Steps Leading to a Dead End</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>             Roy sat nervously on the couch of the couch of one of the various rooms in Wayne Manor. Roy stared down at the dark carpet that covered the hard and cold floor. Next to him on his left was his mate, Jason, and on the right was Dick. He looked over when he noticed his alpha lacing his hand over his leg in an attempt to calm him. But, calming down wasn’t really an option right now, not when Bruce fucking Wayne, <em>the</em> motherfucking Batman, was standing only a few feet away from them, leaning on the fireplace that roared over the silence. Roy was trying to decipher the bat’s silence, but that was a talent that only Jason and Alfred seemed to have mastered.</p>
<p>              Roy flinched when Alfred, a beta, came in. The old gentleman set down a tray of tea on the coffee table that stood as a barrier between the trio and Bruce. Alfred brought a cup over to Bruce, “Your tea, sir?”</p>
<p>              Bruce took the cup with a nod of appreciation to Alfred before taking a greedy swig of it and setting it down. He then turned his attention to Jason, “So where exactly have you been?”</p>
<p>              “Bludhaven…”</p>
<p>              “Right. And what was so important that you couldn’t contact me about?”</p>
<p>              “…Nothing I guess…” Jason scratch the back of his neck, “Unless you count taking care of Roy…”</p>
<p>              “Was he injured?”</p>
<p>              “Not exactly…”</p>
<p>              “Then no. I don’t count that as an excuse for disappearing for two goddamned months Jason!” Bruce’s voice lowered to a growl, and Jason opened his mouth to speak but Bruce stopped him. He cleared his throat, to subdue the growl that was growing in his throat, then promptly turned his attention to Dick who shrunk under the Bat’s glare, “Dick. I thought I left you to search Bludhaven? After all it’s your turf, you should know it by now. So why weren’t you able to find him?”</p>
<p>              Dick almost whined, “I…I’m sorry…I should’ve looked harder. I’ll accept responsibility for not finding him…”</p>
<p>              “I’ll let it slide this time since Jason is okay, but I thought you were trying to prove you could do this on your own? From where I’m standing, I’m not impressed. You can do better.”</p>
<p>              Dick simply nodded. Bruce sighed and sat in a cushioned chair, “Now. Explain. Why did you two leave?”</p>
<p>              Bruce was looking directly at Roy now, Roy whined, “uuuhm… we…” Roy’s voice trailed off. Jason squeezed his hand and took over, “I marked him. Now he’s pregnant, because I was irresponsible.” Short and brutal, an explanation that reminded Roy of the feeling he gets when ripping off a band-aid. He peaked at his mate adoptive father and winced. The poor man was sitting there in total silence, his eyes wide and his hands resting uselessly on his thighs. Dick stood up, “Okay, okay. Before we panic-“</p>
<p>              “Everyone but Jason out. Now.” Bruce’s voice dropped, taking on a tone that Roy referred to as the ‘alpha voice’. The ‘alpha voice’ was a common tool utilized to almost (since the effects could be resisted) force others to listen through intimidation, and it was highly effective. Especially on poor Roy who flinched and cling to Jason protectively. He suddenly feared the intentions that Bruce had for his alpha, “Wait! Wait! This is all my fault! I forced him into this! If you mad at him, then be mad at me instead!”</p>
<p>              Jason growled, “Roy! Stop. It’s fine.” Jason rubbed Roy’s arm, and Roy whined, “No… I don’t want to leave you alone with him…”</p>
<p>             Dick sighed and gently eased Roy away from Jason, “It’ll be fine. They’re not going to hurt each other. We can wait by the door alright. If anything goes wrong, we can rush in.” Roy hesitantly left with Dick, never breaking eye contact with Jason as they went through the door. Alfred closed the door behind them. The butler smiled sweetly at Roy, “Please don’t worry. Master Bruce will only scold Jason. They might get loud, but that’s the norm. Instead, let’s focus on getting some food in you. You’re eating for two are you not?”</p>
<p>            Roy whined, “Yeah, I guess a brownie sounds good right now…”</p>
<p>            Alfred placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “Then a brownie it is. I’ll be right back.”</p>
<p>            Alfred gracefully left down the hall and disappeared down the stairs.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Meanwhile, Jason was fiddling with his thumbs as Bruce stared at him quietly. Jason took a deep and long breath, he refused to let Bruce intimidate him, “Look. Before you yell at me for being a dumbass. I fucking get it okay. I know I fucked up, but I’m taking responsibility for it. Roy doesn’t want an abortion if he can avoid it, and I’m going to support his decision, with or without your help.” Jason focused his glare onto Bruce, and the fire-y determination he had suddenly broke when he saw the look on Bruce’s face. The older alpha looked tired, but most of all his eyes looked concerned and <em>hurt</em>. Bruce wasn’t mad, he was genuinely worried and scared for Jason and Roy. Bruce slowly stood up, “Jason. I’ll admit, you definitely ‘fucked’ up, I won’t deny that. I want you to understand that as much as I’m upset that you’d go this far without thinking about the consequences is completely reckless. I also want you to understand, you can come to me with anything Jason. There’s nothing you could do to stop me from caring about you son.”</p>
<p>           Jason stared up at Bruce, his hands were shaking, he really hadn’t been expecting this from Bruce. Bruce didn’t get emotional often, so seeing it now was a bit of a shock and it actually moved him, “I…I don’t…”</p>
<p>           Bruce walked pass the coffee table and sat on the couch next to Jason and wrapped his arms around the boy as firmly as he could, “I’m sorry son. I’m sorry for making you feel like you couldn’t come to me with all of this. “Jason slowly returned the hug, he let himself indulge in his dad’s calming scent, and Bruce continued, “You can come to me with anything. I’ll always support you. “</p>
<p>           Jason whined softly, “Even with this? “</p>
<p>           “Of course! I’m not going to throw you back out on the street. I’m sticking around.” Bruce reassured Jason. Jason felt tears starting to build up, sometimes he hated just how easily Bruce was able to read him. How his dad always knew when and what was scaring him. Jason’s hands clutched Bruce’s shirt so tightly that his knuckles nearly went white. Jason whined again, a bit more freely now, with more trust in Bruce, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry dad…” with that Jason broke into loud and gross sobbed into Bruce’s chest. All of the tension and bottled up fear unleashed itself. Jason had been telling himself that he had to be the strong one for Roy, that he couldn’t let his Omega see him break like this. But, now with all of Bruce’s reassuring words, he just couldn’t hold it back anymore.</p>
<p>          Bruce rubbed his back, “You don’t have to apologize. It’s okay. “Bruce sat there patiently holding his son. He quietly reassured Jason, “It’s alright to be scared Jason. I’m here…”</p>
<p>          Eventually Jason calmed down and quickly pulled away, that was enough of that, he looked away from Bruce and vigorously started wiping at his face. Once he though he was more presentable he looked back at Bruce, “So… what am I supposed to do now…?”</p>
<p>          “Well. We need to talk to Roy’s family. I’ll talk to Oliver for you, so don’t worry about that. Right now, you need to focus on taking care of Roy. He’s going to need you. And if you’re really going to support him then you need to be there for him as much as possible. “</p>
<p>           “What about…?”</p>
<p>           “School and patrol? Oh, you’re still expected to handle both. I’ll let you have a week to settle things, but this isn’t going to interfere with your other duties. When you’re not out with me or studying, you’ll be helping Roy. Understood.”</p>
<p>            “Yeah. I understand.”</p>
<p>            “Good. You go on now. Come get me if you need anything, alright?”</p>
<p>            Jason smiled and nodded before leaving the room.</p>
<hr/>
<p>           Roy wanted to say that the next few weeks were perfect. That Bruce was able to smooth things over with Oliver and that the morning sickness wasn’t completely kicking his ass. But, he wasn’t that lucky. Apparently, Bruce had been talking to Oliver for 3 solid weeks now, trying to explain the situation to him and so on, and Oliver was now refusing to even see Roy. Any call or text Roy sent his way was completely ignored. It hurt a lot that the man that he saw as a father figure in his life was rejecting all of this so harshly. Dinah, black canary and Oliver’s Alpha mate, had sent a really long text about being irresponsible and talking about how Oliver needed time to process everything and whatever. Honestly, it really pissed Roy off, he was the pregnant one. He was the one that needed help, yet it was Oliver that was being pampered. He just wanted his dad to be there, like Bruce was for Jason. It wasn’t fair.</p>
<p>           At least Bruce, Alfred, and especially Jason had been there for him. And for a while Dick had stuck around too. For the first two weeks of his stay at Wayne Manor, the three alphas and beta butler had lavished him with support and attention. Throughout the day they’d make sure he was comfortable and fed before Bruce and Jason would head out for work or school. That left Dick and Alfred to keep him company, and he had to admit he loved it. Dick would just hang out, listen if Roy needed to vent about Oliver or about Jason’s increasingly persistent possessiveness. Then Alfred would bring snacks and miracle cures for whatever pregnancy related ailment was bothering him that particular moment. The cures were short lived, but any break from all the puking was more than welcome. Then at night Bruce would head out for patrols, and Jason and Dick would switch off between who goes and who stays, so he had some time with Jason as well. Overall, his new little routine at the Wayne Manor was pretty nice.</p>
<p>           Eventually Dick had to go back to Bludhaven, and Roy really didn’t mind. He still had Alfred around to keep him company. But had to admit that waiting for his alpha to come home everyday was starting to get to him. He tried to watch movies or talk with Alfred to distract himself, but his omega instincts were constantly reminding him that he needed his alpha right now. But once Jason got home his spirits were lifted instantly, and Jason would waste no time in pampering the omega as much as possible. Even Bruce seemed happy to see the pair so happily, albeit dramatically, reunited every night.</p>
<p>            Once Jason got home, they had their routine, Jason would eat dinner with Roy, Roy would treat any wounds Jason had, then they’d go to Roy’s nest to cuddle and rest. It wasn’t much, but it was enough, and sometimes Jason would read these stupid parenting books that he got, or that Bruce got for him, or even one particularly stupid one from Dick. Roy loved watching Jason’s face scrunch up as he focused, it reminded him of the soft dates they’d have before all of this, and it was adorable.</p>
<hr/>
<p>           It had been a bit over a month now since Roy had come to live at Wayne Manor, and Jason was absolutely loving it. He hated that Oliver was being a little bitch, but he couldn’t really fix that, as much as he wanted to for his omega’s sake. He hated how hurt his mate sounded as he vented about how easily Oliver had just decided to just avoid him. Every time he heard Roy whine or, on a few occasions, cry, it made his blood boil. He wanted to absolutely tear Oliver apart then drag him back to Gotham to apologize. In fact, Jason has been noticing more and more, his new needs pertaining to his pregnant mate. It was starting to become a bit of a problem, or at least that’s what Bruce had said after he snapped at Bruce for just taking a single step towards Roy. It was like everyone around him was walking on thin ice with him, a single wrong move could make Jason snap, and it was quite the eye opener. Jason always thought that his control over his instincts was practically flawless, but now he was starting to see how rough around the edges he really was. Jason would be a bit more worried about it, but thank god, Roy was always able to calm him down in seconds. Just a few loving words and a reassuring hug and Jason would melt.</p>
<p>           In fact, that’s what he was doing right now. Melting under Roy’s fingers, which were spinning heavenly shapes into his scalp. Jason barely even noticed that he was purring so loudly that it sounded almost like a growl, and he certainly didn’t notice the way his lips twitch into a stupid grin. After all, it was his first full day off in a month. No school to stress him out, and no patrol for the night. Just a whole day devoted to his omega.</p>
<p>           Roy chuckled, “Jaybird~ You still listening?”</p>
<p>           Jason wasn’t embarrassed when he responded with a sound between a purr and a moan. And Roy laughed, “Oh my god, you jerk, I’ve been trying to tell you something important you know?” Roy sounded mostly amused by Jason’s antics, but he caught a hint of annoyance in Roy’s voice, and that was enough to make him focus a bit more. “Sorry….” Jason managed to force out over the purrs, “…. Your fingers are like magic…. I can’t help it…” Jason wrapped his arms around Roy’s waste and started nuzzling his face into Roy’s stomach, an act that was starting to become a habit for the alpha. Roy gently pulled on his hair, “Hey! Actually, listen this time okay?”</p>
<p>          Jason whined, “Fiiiine…what?”</p>
<p>          “I’ve been trying to say that we gotta get ready to go! I have a doctor’s appointment today.”</p>
<p>           Jason sat up, suddenly remembering the reason for his day off, “Shit! What time is it??”</p>
<p>          “It’s still early enough. But if we wanna make it we gotta get up now.”</p>
<p>          Jason groans, “Daaaamn it. I was enjoying that…” He pouted.</p>
<p>         Roy laughed again, it was perfect, “Yeah I noticed. You were purring like a damned motorcycle or something. “</p>
<p>         Jason blushed, “Whatever, just go get in the shower, I’ll join you in a minute.” Jason watched as Roy scooted out of the bed and started walking towards the bathroom. Jason blinked before bolting out of the nest and catching Roy from behind by the hips. Roy yelped as Jason’s hands snaked around and under the omega shirt before Jason started softly rubbing the omegas belly in search of something.</p>
<p>         Roy blushed, “Hey! Hey! What are you doing??”</p>
<p>         Jason’s face scrunched up with focus, “I think…” Jason stopped as his hands settled on a particular bump that was starting to form, and Jason smirked pride blooming in his chest, “You starting to show~”</p>
<p>         Roy stammered, “Hey…! You wipe that grin off your face. It’s barely even there!” Roy looked down at Jason’s hands and started trying to pry him off. Jason didn’t care as a giddy giggle started bubbling up from the surface, “You’re getting a baby bump~” he teased relentlessly.</p>
<p>          Roy whined, embarrassed, “Jason! Stop being mean!”</p>
<p>         “You totally gonna be big. Especially if you already starting to show~”</p>
<p>         “Shut up! It’s barely even anything! You hallucinating! There’s no bump!”</p>
<p>          Jason just kept laughing, and soon Roy couldn’t help but join in.</p>
<hr/>
<p>         Eventually the pair was finally ready and they were finally in the car driving to the hospital for Roy’s first ultrasound. Roy was anxious with excitement. He couldn’t help the way that his leg bounce with anticipation. It must’ve gotten annoying since Jason firm grasped his thigh and held it there for the rest of the car ride. Roy sighed, they were actually supposed to do the first ultra sound a bit sooner, but with two months in hiding then another month dedicated to letting things calm down a bit, they had to wait until now. Roy guessed that he was about 12 or 13 weeks along by now, which wasn’t an unusual time to get an ultra sound, he just wished that they’d gotten on top of it sooner.</p>
<p>        Jason pulled into the drive way of the hospital and parked. They got out of the car and briskly made their way to the waiting room. Well, they tried to but Roy had a bit of trouble keeping up once Jason wrapped a possessive arm around him and pulled him a bit to close. Looking at his alpha he could see him struggling not to growl at the strangers that the simply passed by. Roy sighed, at first Jason’s protectiveness due to the pregnancy was cute, maybe even a little funny, but now it was starting to get be overkill. As long as Jason didn’t actually hurt someone then Roy figured he’d just have to tolerate it. He quickly reached up and placed a hand over the one resting on his arm, “Hey, chill out. “</p>
<p>         Jason sighed angrily, “Sorry. This is different from when its just Bruce or Dick…”</p>
<p>        Roy nodded, “I know, but I also know that you can reign yourself in, so please don’t go on a rampage in the hospital…”</p>
<p>        “I won’t. I promise. “Just as Jason said that, they finally made it up to the front desk where they quickly checked in and sat down. They sat and waited quietly, and Roy tried to ignore the few stares that they had gotten, likely because of how young they looked. Another reason why Roy had wished they’d knocked this out sooner. Jason, didn’t seem to be handling it as easily. There was only maybe, three or four moms along with their mates staring at them, likely just gossiping amongst each other. Even so, Jason looked ready to go wild but he suddenly grabbed Roy’s hand and that seemed to relax him well enough. Luckily, they only had to wait a few more minutes before a nurse came out and called them over.</p>
<p>         The nurse was young, and they seemed nice enough, they started off with some instruction, “So, we just gotta do some simple measurements, just the normal stuff alright?” Roy was sure that they were talking to him, but the way that the nurse looked at Jason made him think that that last part had been for Jason. Roy smiled politely, “Yeah, no problem.”</p>
<p>          The nurse led them to a area in the halls and started taking his weight while Jason waited uselessly nearby, “So do you know far along you are?”</p>
<p>           “A little over 12 weeks.”</p>
<p>           “Oh really? Then the ultra sound is gonna be fun for you.” They chuckled warmly.</p>
<p>           “What do you mean by that?”</p>
<p>           “Well, you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”</p>
<p>            Roy pouts, they interrupted by a sudden growl from Jason, who was now leaning against the wall adjacent to them with his arms crossed. The Nurse smirk as they led Roy to a chair and blood pressure machine, “Oh~ Bid bad alpha you got there huh?”</p>
<p>            Roy laughed as Jason glared more intensely at both of them, “Yeah! Well, he tries to be~” Roy teases and the nurse starts laughing too. Roy quells his laughter, “I’m sorry about him though, he can’t help it right now.”</p>
<p>            “Oh, you don’t have to tell me. I know all about it. Every Alpha I bring through here is like that. “</p>
<p>            “Really?”</p>
<p>            “Yeah, for the most part, some go about it in a different way, but in the end its all the same. Just a bunch of alphas all trying to protect their mates from nothing and everything.” They turned on the machine and the plastic around his bicep started to tighten. For a second Roy whined as it got a bit too tight for his sore muscles.</p>
<p>             Jason stepped forward, “You alright??”</p>
<p>            “Just a bit sore, I’m fine.” He exhaled once the band loosened and the nurse took it off. The Nurse wrote some stuff down then led them to the doctor’s office. They had Roy sit on the chair, next to it were various instruments that Roy had to assume was for the ultra sound. Jason stood by on his right while the nurse sat down at a computer and started typing away, “So, morning sickness?”</p>
<p>            “Yup…”</p>
<p>            “Any other symptoms?”</p>
<p>            “Just the usual stuff I guess…”</p>
<p>            “Any family ailments, or anything we should be concerned about?”</p>
<p>            “No. None that I know of.”</p>
<p>            “Great. The doctor will be in to see you soon. “they smiled before taking their leave.</p>
<p>            Jason sighed in relief, likely because they now had a moment to themselves. Roy smiled, he appreciated that Jason’s attempts to not be a jerk, “You did pretty good I think.”</p>
<p>            “Ugh… Don’t mention it. “</p>
<p>            “Hey, once the doctor comes, maybe when can ask them for some advice, if its bothering you that much…?</p>
<p>            “Yeah, maybe. Don’t worry too much though, can’t you see I totally have this under control!” Jason smirked smugly, “You’re lucky I didn’t snap at those assholes in the waiting room.”</p>
<p>            “They weren’t assholes. They just can’t mind their own business.”</p>
<p>            Jason huffs, “Yeah. Yeah. Still, I wanted to punch them, like they could’ve at least tried to not be so obvious about it.”</p>
<p>            “Just forget it Jaybird.” Roy grabbed Jason’s hand and softly kissed his knuckles. Jason smiled and nuzzled against his cheek happily. Roy couldn’t restrain his purr. Of course, that’s when the doctor walked in and the pair quickly pulled apart from each other. The doctor, a young omega woman, laughed, “Sorry, did I interrupt something?”</p>
<p>            Roy laughed nervously, “Nope! Definitely didn’t interrupt anything!”</p>
<p>            She smiled, “Oh good.” She closed the door behind her and sat next to Roy, where she started looking through the files the nurse had left for her. She focused quietly for a moment before looking at the both of them, “So 17 going on 18…A bit young don’t you think?”</p>
<p>            Roy frowned, “Yeah… we weren’t planning to have a kid so soon, but hey…accidents happen I guess…”</p>
<p>            “Right.” Her tone was serious now, “And you both can handle this, you’re sure?”</p>
<p>            “Yeah. His dad and brother are helping us. “Roy gestured to Jason, who only nodded.</p>
<p>           The Doctor sighed, “Alright, just making sure.” She put on some gloves and started prepping everything, “Lift your shirt up for me?” Roy obeyed without a complaint, pulling his shirt up just enough for his belly to be exposed, then let Jason hold his hand. The doctor wasted no time in lathering his stomach in the gel, and Roy winced softly, it was way colder than he was expecting. After that they simply waited as the doctor started rubbing a device over the gel, and started searching. They waited until the doctor finally spoke up again and she started pointing it out to them. But once the pair say it, they tuned her out. Roy stared, and now he saw what the nurse had meant. Roy was able to make out the beginnings of some arms and legs, he even noticed little fists and feet. Roy stammered silently, he didn’t know why, but he was expecting the fetus just be a little lump or something. In hindsight, that was a pretty stupid assumption, especially sight he was about to be in the second trimester of this pregnancy, so of course the fetus was already baby shaped! Maybe he should’ve read some of those books with Jason… It was surreal for him; how real this had all suddenly become.</p>
<p>          Roy snapped out of his thoughts to the sound of the Doctor trying to get their attention, or more specifically Jason’s attention, “Uhm…sir…?”</p>
<p>          Roy turned to look at Jason and nearly whined, his alpha was frozen in shock. Jason was staring up at the screen similarly to how Roy had just been except Jason was trembling, his hand now hanging loosely in Roy’s hand. Then the gasping and tears started and Roy panicked, “Hey! Jason??”</p>
<p>           The Doctor took the probe off of Roy’s stomach and the screen went blank as Roy rolled over and shook Jason a little, “Hey, what’s wrong Jay…?”</p>
<p>           Jason seemed to snap out of it then, he looked over at Roy, there was still some trembling and a few lingering tears, Jason squeezed Roy’s hand, “I’m sorry… It’s nothing… “</p>
<p>           “That wasn’t nothing! You just had an actual panic attack or something! “</p>
<p>            Jason sighed, “I’m just overwhelmed. “Jason seemed to notice the tears at that point and looked away to wipe at his eyes. Roy sighed, “We’re talking about this when we get home.” And Jason only nodded.</p>
<p>            Roy turned back to the doctor and they continued. The rest of the ultra sound went smoothly, Roy even caught Jason smiling a few times. Once the doctor was printing the scans Roy looked over, “Uhm, is it alright if we get a second print of the scans? My dad lives in star city and I wanted to send him a copy of this…”</p>
<p>            The doctor smiled, “No problem, I’ll just have to fiddle with it a little, one second.” They waited as the woman eventually handed them over. Jason held onto them. The doctor gave Roy instructions for how he should carry on for the next few months, things like rest and a proper diet. Once she finished Roy spoke up, “Oh yeah! My mate has been having issues… with his temperament…like uuuhm…’</p>
<p>            “You mean he’s having a hard time not ripping people apart just for looking at you?” she chuckled</p>
<p>            Roy nodded, “Do you have any advice for that?”</p>
<p>            “Well,” they both looked over at Jason, who wasn’t listening to a word they were saying, instead he was looking through the ultra sound scans again, a proud smile gracing his face now. Whatever had spooked him before seemed completely forgotten now. The doctor continued, “It should be fine. Just indulge him a bit. Letting him be as clingy as he needs is really the only way to placate those urges.”</p>
<p>            Roy nods, and with that the doctor sees them out and the pair walk back to the car, Jason still worshipping the scans as he kept Roy practically glued to his waist. Roy smiled, as the got in the car, this time he took up the role of driver.</p>
<p>            While they drove back towards Wayne Manor, Roy nudges Jason, “So, I see you’re happy with those~?”</p>
<p>            Jason smiled, a big and genuine one, “Hell yeah I am! These are amazing… They’re already so developed you know…?”</p>
<p>            “Yeah! It freaked me out too!”</p>
<p>            “Yeah… “Jason looked away from the scans and switched his focus to Roy, “I’m sorry for freaking out on you in there…I don’t know what came over me…”</p>
<p>            “It’s fine. I was overwhelmed too.”</p>
<p>            “Yeah... but you didn’t start crying…. Fuck, that was embarrassing…”</p>
<p>            “Hey, it’s okay! You’re allowed to be as much of a crybaby as you want Jaybird!” Roy teased and Jason pouted, “But… what exactly were you thinking back there…? “Roy let his tone drop to be softer and more concerned.</p>
<p>            Jason sighed, “I don’t know… I guess I was upset… At first, I was in awe…and I was kind of proud, but then I just got so upset…”</p>
<p>            “Why?”</p>
<p>            “Because of my father… Willis Todd… After seeing the scans, I just thought, how the hell could anyone not care about something like this… I’d do literally anything for you and them! But, people like Willis just up and leave… I don’t get that…”</p>
<p>            Roy frowned, “Yeah… It’s not fair…But hey, at least you’re already on the right track towards being better!”</p>
<p>            Jason smiled, “Your damned right I am!”</p>
<hr/>
<p>            The next few months were uneventful, Roy was able to send the copy of the ultrasound scans to Oliver, but the man still seemed to be ignoring them. Roy was starting to doubt that Oliver would ever come around, this was compounded by the fact that Roy was getting more and more homesick. As much as he loved Wayne Manor, he couldn’t same the same about the rest of Gotham. Gotham was absolutely nothing like Star city. The two places were so different that he swore he got whiplash sometimes. Honestly, Gotham was like one of those gothic horror novels he caught Jason reading sometimes. Luckily Wayne Manor was pretty far removed from the main city, but even the manor creeped him out from time to time. From the outside the manor looked like a small castle, built with cold and grey stones and featuring pointed spires.  The house was old, just as the Wayne family’s place in this gothic town was. Overall, his time in Gotham was going great.</p>
<p>              And it was about to get much better! Dick had called him the other day, and now him and the rest of the Titans were coming to visit! It was January now, making him about five months or 18-20 weeks along now! Jason never let him forget, especially now that there was definitely a baby bump that he really couldn’t hide now. Whenever Jason was home, the stupid alpha would glue himself to the bump, whether it was nuzzling it or resting his hands on it didn’t matter, Jason was constantly making sure that he was touching it whenever he could, Jason said that it was the protective instincts kicking in again, but really Roy thought he was just being annoying.</p>
<p>            He checked his phone, before tossing it aside once again; Dick and the others were supposed to be on their way right now. He was waiting for a text or something that’d indicate their arrival, he was hoping that they’d arrive before Jason got back from patrol. It was a bit mean, but he wanted a moment to just hang out without Jason teasing him about the baby.</p>
<p>            Suddenly his phone vibrated and he fumbled over to it clumsily. He picked it up and checked it, it was a text from Wally, ‘Bout to be there. Better be ready’</p>
<p>            Roy smiled and got up from his nest, making sure that he was presentable, and by presentable he meant showered and dressed in baggy clothes that he’s stolen from Jason. Bruce had given Jason a stash of larger clothes for when Jason’s growth spurt hit, but that hadn’t happened yet so in the mean time Roy was using them. Once he was satisfied, he bolted out the room and down the hall, but froze once he came face to face with his new nemesis. The stairs. Roy whined as he recalled an incident a week or so ago where he nearly fell down the stairs, luckily Jason had been there to save him, but since then he’s been a bit spooked. He took a deep breath and he slowly lowered himself so he was sitting on the top step, then slowly and carefully started scooting his way down the stairs. It was a pathetic display, but Roy refused to act Alfred for help with something as simple as walking down a flight of stairs.</p>
<p>            Of course, since the universe hated him, that was the aforementioned Butler appeared from around the corner, “Oh! Master Harper! Perfect timing, you have guests…Do you need assistance sir?”</p>
<p>              Roy panicked, “Nope! I’m fine! Jus tell them to wait-“</p>
<p>              Dick and Wally came up behind Alfred, “Wait for what?”</p>
<p>              Roy whined once they’d fully rounded the corner and where now staring at him attempting to scoot down the stared, Roy felt his face burn and he stammered, “W-wait! I don’t need help!”</p>
<p>              Dick and Wally started laughing so hard that they were clinging to each other to keep from falling over. Roy started to scoot down faster, which caused them to laugh even harder. Once Roy had reached the bottom the rest of the titans had filed in and were trying not to laugh. Beast boy helped him up, “You alright man?”</p>
<p>              Roy pouted, “Yeah…”</p>
<p>              “Then why were you going down the stairs like that?” Cyborg asked, a teasing tone rumbling in his voice.</p>
<p>              Roy whined as Alfred spoke for him, “Master Harper nearly had quite the accident recently, he’s refused to go down the stair normally ever since. “</p>
<p>              Starfire cooed, “That’s awful! Are you alright my friend?” he rushed over and wrapped him in a hug. Roy sighed, “I’m fine. Just embarrassed.”</p>
<p>              Beast boy patted his back, “Well, Happy birthday dude!” beast boy cheered as the titans shoved a few gifts onto him. Roy smiled, he’d completely forgotten, “Aw! Thanks guys!”</p>
<p>              Raven spoke up with a small smile, “Don’t mention it.”</p>
<p>              Dick nods, “Yup! And don’t worry, it’s not all baby stuff, I’m sure grandpa bats is already showering you with baby shit, right?”</p>
<p>              “Yeah! It’s kinda weird actually, I never expected him to be so… indulgent? You know, since he’s so grouchy most of the time…”</p>
<p>              Dick laughs, “Yeah, grump on the outside, but he’s got a heart in their somewhere, under all the shadows and shit.”</p>
<p>              The moved over to the living room and all sat down. Roy continued, “Yeah, I caught him and Jason trying to put the crib together a few days ago! It was so cute. They had to take it apart and start over a few times but it was nice watching the two of them figure it out together. Jason doesn’t relax very often these days, so it was really nice to see them doing something normal for once.” Roy rambled on excitedly.</p>
<p>              Dick smiled, “Oh? That’s cute.”</p>
<p>              Wally stared, “I can’t for the life of me imagine batman doing something like that at all.” The other titans agreed.</p>
<p>              Roy and Dick pouted at them, “Well he can be! He’s not as cruel as he always makes himself out to be. “Dick defended the bat as Roy nodded along.</p>
<p>             “Yeah. Sure, he is. Anyway, where are they right now?” Cyborg asked.</p>
<p>              “Jason’s at school. Bruce is probably dealing with Wayne industries stuff. Then they’re going on patrol.”</p>
<p>              “So, Jay’s not going to be here for your birthday?”</p>
<p>              “No, it’s not like that! He said he was coming home early tonight! And I completely forgot what today was anyway.”</p>
<p>              Wally sneered, “How do you forget your own birthday? That baby frying your brain?”</p>
<p>              “I guess that could be it. I spend most of my time ‘resting’ so the days kinda blur together, plus Jason spoils the shit out of me, I can’t imagine how he’s gonna try and top everything for my birthday. At least he’s coming home early, as long as I get that I’m fine.”</p>
<p>              Dick nuzzles Roy, “Aw! My baby bro isn’t leaving you alone too much is he?”</p>
<p>              “No! It’s not like that at all! Jason’s just been really busy…getting his shit together and stuff…”</p>
<p>              Raven scowls, “What do you mean by that?” she sounded like she was suspicious, probably misunderstanding what Roy said as some sign of abuse.</p>
<p>              “It’s nothing bad He’s just been focusing a lot on school right now! He’s been trying to work something out so that he can graduate sooner! Like he’s already skipped his English classes altogether. Honestly, he’s really fucking smart, he’s hoping that he’ll be able to graduate this year, but that’s a bit unrealistic even for him. Then he’s been trying to work something out with Bruce so that he can work at Wayne industries. He mentioned that he was trying to get Bruce to let him be an organizer for the Martha Wayne Foundation.”</p>
<p>              Dick whistled, clearly impressed, Roy couldn’t help but beam with pride with how hard his alpha had been working, “Damn, The Martha Wayne Foundation? That’s a good fit for him.”</p>
<p>              Wally stopped them, “What’s the Martha Wayne thing?”</p>
<p>              Dick smiled, “Oh! It’s one of my favorite branches of Wayne industries! It’s a department of the company that focuses on community service here in Gotham. Things like helping out orphanages, and setting up soup kitchens for the homeless. “</p>
<p>              The titan’s whistle, now they were impressed as well, Cyborg leaned back into the couch, “Damn, Jay’s really stepping up huh?”</p>
<p>              Raven nodded, “Always thought he was just an asshole, guess I was wrong.” Beast boy nudged her softly with his shoulder, “See? I was right, you can’t always judge people so harshly Rae.” Roy watched as Raven welcomed, his alpha’s touch, everyone had known they’d been a thing for a while now, it was nice to see that they were still getting along so well. But then he noticed the awkward face Wally had made as the other glanced at Dick when he thought nobody was looking. Roy frowns, seemed that Wally was still pining for the unreachable Dick Grayson.</p>
<p>              After that they spent the next few hours opening presents. The presents consisted of a few things for the baby, but mostly consisted of things Roy would be able to use to entertain himself, which he was endlessly grateful for. Afterwards the grouped piled up close to him and they watched movies as they waited for Bruce and Jason to return. Soon the sun set, signaling about the time that Jason would be out on patrol with Bruce. At that point it was just a matter of waiting a few hours. Eventually a few hours turned into a long while. Then it was 2 am and they were all still waiting. When Jason said he was coming home early that usually meant he’d be home by 11 to midnight. Now Roy was starting to worry, “I hope he’s alright…”</p>
<p>              Raven huffed, “He better have a good damned reason for making you wait this long.”</p>
<p>              Dick interrupted her, “Hey- they probably just ran into some trouble during patrol. You guys know how rough it can get around here sometimes.”</p>
<p>              Roy absently started rubbing his baby bump and looked toward the hidden door that lead to the bat cave, “Yeah…”</p>
<p>              They waited another hour before Dick and Roy heard the mechanisms of the Batcave rumbling, signaling that Bruce and Jason were home. Roy quickly perked up and waited for the pair to come up. When the doors opened, the first figure that could make out was Bruce who had tossed the cowl off and focused and holding up Jason, who was still completely decked out in the robin uniform. Roy panic and squirmed out of the cuddle pile, “What happened??” Roy rushed over and started looking his mate over, he saw a few wounds  on Jason’s arms and on his leg, they didn’t seem too serious, just a graze or a cut. Roy took Jason’s face into his hands and saw the more serious injury, a gash on the side of his head. Bruce growled, “They got a good hit on him, I would be treating him right now, but he refused to let me do anything until after he’s seen you.”</p>
<p>              Roy whined, and Jason pulled away from Bruce to lean on Roy, the young alpha clearly had a concussion with how he stumbled and swayed. But he smirked at Roy anyway, “Hey, I’m home…!” he wrapped his arms around Roy’s shoulders to steady himself, “I’m sorry I’m late…. It’s not too late right…?”</p>
<p>              “What do you mean?? You need to get patched up!” Roy tried to push the other back into the cave but either Roy had gotten a lot weaker, or Jason was packing on a lot more weight because he didn’t remember Jason being this heavy.</p>
<p>               Jason smirked, teasing his omega even when he was injured, “Who’s the small fry now?”</p>
<p>               “Shut up! You’re not taller than me yet jerk. Not go to the cave, right now!”</p>
<p>               “Nope. Can’t. Did I miss it…?” Jason frowned now, becoming way too serious.</p>
<p>               “….” Roy thought for a moment before it clicked, “You mean my birthday…?”</p>
<p>               Jason nodded and winced at the movement, he swayed as Roy glanced at the clock, technically Jason had missed it by four hours, but he wasn’t going to tell him that. Roy smiled, “Nope! You made it just on time! “</p>
<p>               Jason purred softly, “Good… “He turned and started rummaging in his cape before pulling out a thin but long present. It was wrapped in a thin bag, the thing was a little over a foot long. Jason handed it over to him, “Happy birthday…”</p>
<p>               Roy stared, “What…?”</p>
<p>               “Just open it.”</p>
<p>               Roy listened and pulled the bag open at the top and gently pushed the bag off the present. In his hand now was a small red bow with a simple design and a wrapped leather grip, along with a strong black wire stringed up it already. Roy inspected the base of the bow, the wooden part, was strong and was stained red. Roy turned it over and found engravings of their initials on it. Roy looked up at Jason, “Wait… It’s personalized, did you…?” Roy quickly assumed that Jason spent a shit ton of money for some made to order bow.</p>
<p>              Jason smirked with a stupid smugness that he could only half manage while fostering a concussion, “Nope, I made it myself! Skipped lunch for weeks so that I could hijack the wood workshop at the academy. “Jason looked way to proud of himself and Roy barely noticed the soft gasps and cooing of the titans behind him.</p>
<p>              Roy stared, “How…?”</p>
<p>              “It took me a couple tries, I kept breaking them, but eventually I jot it right, just in time for today…”</p>
<p>              Roy gaped at Jason before looking at it again, and he suddenly felt like something was off, “Wait… Why is it…?”</p>
<p>              “So small? Well…. it’s kinda a double gift… It’s technically for the baby…. For when you teach them how to use it…” Jason blushed as he looked down, that fantasy had obviously been something he’d been imagining for a while now, and Roy absolutely loved it. He tackled Jason in a hug, still firmly grasping the small bow in his hand. Roy pulled away a bit and kissed Jason before pulling away, “Thanks Jay, it’s perfect!”</p>
<p>               Jason purred, “Good...”</p>
<p>              Roy pushed Jason toward Bruce, “Now go get patched up so you can watch movies with us!”</p>
<p>              Jason nodded stupidly before Bruce dragged him back into the cave. Roy stood by the hidden door until it closed and he turned around to all the titans smirking at him, he squeaked, “W-what…?”</p>
<p>             Dick was smirking the most, “He’s in love with you~”</p>
<p>             Roy blushed, "Shut the hell up Grayson! I may be pregnant but I can still shoot a bow!”</p>
<p>             They laughed, soon Jason stumbled his way back up to them. He and Roy squeezed back into the cuddle pile and they continued watching movies and keeping Jason awake as long as they could. Eventually Roy had fallen asleep leaning up against Jason’s side, still holding onto the cute little bow, while Jason was struggling not to dose off next to him, his hands resting comfortably on the baby bump under Roy’s baggy shirt. The titans definitely didn’t take a few pictures of the pair, and they definitely wearing going to start scrapbooking moments like this.</p>
<hr/>
<p>              The next few months came and went way too fast in Jason’s opinion, now it was April and his omega was going into labor, early. It took everything in him to stop himself from tearing Alfred apart when the butler was simply helping Roy down the stairs while he carried all of their stuff. And it took him even more effort not to go feral on the car ride to the hospital.</p>
<p>              Once they arrived Roy was rushed off into a room without him. At that Jason panicked, tried to stick by Roy’s side. But Bruce firmly help him back as the nurses explained that Alphas were allowed to be present for the labor, he vague remember her mentioning that alphas threatened the doctors too much which also threatened the success of the birth.</p>
<p>              After that Jason blacked out for a while, likely because Bruce or security knocked him out. When he came back to consciousness Bruce and Alfred were sitting with him in a waiting room, Dick and Babs were there now to. Babs smiled at him reassuringly from her wheelchair. Jason felt a prang of rage, before he suddenly remembered why they were here and started pacing to keep himself calm.</p>
<p>              They waited for hours; every second made it even more unbearable for Jason. They had arrived at the hospital early in the morning, but when Jason looked out the window the sky was going dark with night.</p>
<p>              Eventually, when it was completely dark outside, the doctor finally walked in and called them over. He quickly led them to the Room that Roy was not resting in. The moment the Doctor opened the door he stepped out of the way and Jason bolted to Roy’s side. Roy looked exhausted, it stung Jason’s heart, but all of his concerns drifted away once he saw the bundle in Roy’s arms. Jason leaned in close and got a good look at the black-haired baby girl in his mate’s arms, Jason’s mind went blank as he gasped, “Wow…”</p>
<p>              Roy smiled over at him, “She has your hair. “</p>
<p>              Jason nodded stupidly. Roy laughed at him, “Hey…You there Jaybird?”</p>
<p>              “Yeah…she’s cute….”</p>
<p>              “I know…What are we gonna name her… we didn’t talk about any…”</p>
<p>              “Shit… I… You name her…” Jason looked up at Roy with mild panic.</p>
<p>              “Shit…uh…Lian is a pretty name…I heard some lady say it a while back and I thought it was nice…”</p>
<p>              Jason laughs, “We’re already horrible at this…”</p>
<p>              Roy pouts, “Then you come up with something!”</p>
<p>              “No. No, Lian is good…Can her middle name be Catherine?”</p>
<p>              “Why?”</p>
<p>              “After my mom…”</p>
<p>              Roy smiled, “Yeah, for sure! So now we gotta figure out her last name…Lian Catherine Todd? Harper-Todd? Should we Hyphenate it?”</p>
<p>              Jason hummed, “Lian Catherine Harper-Todd… That isn’t too bad. A little bit of a mouth full, but hey, I guess that’s what we she gets for having us as parents…” Jason laughed anxiously. The pair was both bubbling with a mixture of nervousness and anxiety. Jason leaned forward and started nuzzling Roy with a loud purr, “I should’ve asked sooner, but are you alright?”</p>
<p>              Roy snorted, “Yeah…just tired…” The rest of the Bat family was allowed inside at that moment. And Roy purred, “Here, you hold her for a bit, I’m dozing off.”</p>
<p>              Jason nods and reaches for her; Roy lets Jason steadily take Lian into his arms. Jason makes sure to support her as he cradles her close to his chest. Jason purred as he brought Lian closer to his face and started to scent her gently. The both of the purred softly, Jason felt his heart squeeze. He looked back up to Roy and smiled, “I got her, get some rest.” That was all it took before Roy passed out. Jason sat down.</p>
<p>              Bruce crossed his arms with a smile, “May we see her?”</p>
<p>              Jason blinked, “Uuuhm, yeah, of course. But I’m not letting anyone else hold her yet, I just got her!”</p>
<p>              Babs giggled and rushed over to Jason’s side, “Aw! She’s so precious! My little niece~”</p>
<p>              Jason watched as Lian squirmed away from Babs and curled up closer to him, the sight of it squeezed his heart again, this time accompanied by a wave of pride. Babs gasped, “You daddy’s little girl already?”</p>
<p>              Dick scooted over, and hovered over Lian from behind Babs, “Aw! Can’t I hold her, just for a second?? I’ll give right back!”</p>
<p>               Jason snarled as his grip shifted to a more protective posture, “<em>Absolutely not</em>.”</p>
<p>               Bruce snorted, “Dick, don’t pester him for her yet. “</p>
<p>               Dick pouted, “That’s not fair, I wanna hold her…”</p>
<p>               Jason huffed, “You get why I won’t let you once you have one of your own.”</p>
<p>               Now it was Dick’s turn to snort, “Yeah, not happening, at least not anytime soon. I’ll stick to just being Uncle Dick for now.”</p>
<p>               Babs turns and gave him a look, but they were interrupted by a ringing from one of the bags that Jason had brought, it was Roy’s phone. Jason shifted his grip on Lian and reached into the bag and grabbed the phone. When he looked at the contact he growled, a deep rage that had been festering for months dredging back up, he answered quickly, “The fuck do you want Oliver.”</p>
<p>               On the other end Oliver sighed, “Jason?”</p>
<p>               “Who fucking else, now talk.” Jason snarled, Lian whined quietly.</p>
<p>               “Look, Can I talk to Roy? I just want to apologize- “</p>
<p>               “He’s asleep asshole. Are you really gonna ask me to wake my mate after he just gave birth, that’s a dick move you know?” Jason sneered.</p>
<p>               Oliver gasped, “Gave birth…? He had the baby already? You’re sure?”</p>
<p>              “Yes, as sure as I’m fucking holding her right fucking now.”</p>
<p>              Oliver sounded resigned, “Oh…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t keep you then…”</p>
<p>              Jason frowns, he wasn’t expecting Oliver to back off that easily, “Look, call back later, talk to Roy. He wants you to be a part of his and Lian’s life, so he’ll probably forgive your sorry ass. But, before I hang up just let me remind you that I’m still pissed off, what you did tore him apart. He needed you here too. You better be prepared to make up for all of it if you’re really apologizing.” Jason hung up before Oliver could respond. He set the phone down and slouched in the seat, adjusting his hold on Lian so that she’d be secure on his chest.</p>
<p>             Dick winced, “So Ollie finally came around? About damned time.”</p>
<p>             Jason huffed, “He’s lucky that Roy gives a shit about him, if it were up to me he’d be out of the picture.”</p>
<p>             Alfred shook his head, “Enough of that Master Jason, there’s no need to dwell on it now. You should be focusing on your little one.”</p>
<p>              Jason sat up, “huh?”</p>
<p>              “Look at her. “</p>
<p>              Jason looked down at Lian and gasped, she was quivering just slightly, trying to turn away from him, “Shit! Why is she doing that?? She wrapped up so she can’t be cold…” Jason panicked and looked back up to Alfred.</p>
<p>              Babs pokes him, “You scared her with all that growling you dummy. Comfort her.”</p>
<p>              Jason blinked, like a deer caught in headlights, “What…? I wasn’t growling at her though! Why…?” Jason looked down at her and tried to pull her close to scent her again. When she stared whining and leaning in Roy’s general direction, Jason panicked even more, “Wha-… What do I do?!”</p>
<p>              Babs and Dick moved out of the way for Alfred to sit next to him, “First, you calm down. She can smell when your stressed.” Jason took a deep breath, “Next, readjust your hold, her head it dipping slightly, that can’t be terribly comfortable for her.” Jason shifted, holding Liana bit more firmly and with his arm propping her head up properly, “Now try again, try to stay calm this time, being too nervous will only teach her to not trust you. “Jason tried scenting her again, he could feel her little nose twitching against his jaw and his heart squeeze for the millionth time. Jason held her like this until she started purring and curled back up to his chest. Alfred smiled, “See, Master Jason, you’re a natural, you just need to relax more, and keep that temper of yours in check.”</p>
<p>              Jason smiled, “How are you so good at this? Are you just good at everything?”</p>
<p>              “Of course, not Master Jason, I just so happen to have experience in this. I did help raise Master Bruce since he was a baby himself. And I happen to also have a daughter of my own.”</p>
<p>              Jason, Dick and Babs gasped, “Wait whaaaat?!”</p>
<p>             Dick dramatically imitated a betrayed tone, “You have a daughter and you never told us??”</p>
<p>             Bruce groaned, “Oh no…”</p>
<p>             Jason sneered, “Oh no? Now I gotta know more, tell us about her!”</p>
<p>             “Her name is Julia, she’s actually a few years older that Master Bruce is now. “</p>
<p>             “Oh, where is she then?”</p>
<p>             “Working most likely. Her work forces her to travel quite a bit so she can’t visit very often.”</p>
<p>             Bruce interrupts, “Yes, she used to visit frequently, but unfortunately she hates me.”</p>
<p>            Alfred sighs, “Master Bruce, she doesn’t hate you. “</p>
<p>           “Yes, she does, the last we spoke she slapped me. “</p>
<p>           "What did you do?!” Babs stared</p>
<p>           ”I only called her out on something I had thought was obvious at the time. I was young then, so I didn’t realize that I should’ve just kept it to myself.”</p>
<p>            Alfred hums, he seemed unaware of that particular detail, but clearly, he wasn’t worried about it.</p>
<p>           Bruce continued, “It’s not as crazy as your all thinking. We just grew up together, then we drifted apart. The same can be said of a lot of my relationships.” Bruce looked out the window, that was the last he had to say on the matter.</p>
<p>           Dick pouted, “I was hoping for something juicier…”</p>
<p>           Babs huffs, “You not telling the full story”</p>
<p>           Jason smirked, “And I doubt he ever will, just be glad with the little bit he coughed up as it is.”</p>
<p>          They waited calmly after that. Jason spent the rest of his time completely absorbed in taking care of Lian until Roy woke up. The next few days they got everything settled, for when they’d be allowed to go back home. Roy was able to talk things out with Oliver, and honestly Jason loved seeing how relaxed his mate was now. Somehow things seemed easier not that Lian was finally born. It was tough for sure, the learning curve was huge, but they had a lot of help from everyone around them and Jason was so glad for it, he hated to admit it but he’d be lost without them.</p>
<hr/>
<p>           A few days had passed and Roy was officially released from the hospital alongside Lian. With their return to Wayne Manor came a rather exhausting new routine. The first week home was simple enough with Dick and Babs sticking around to help out while Bruce and Jason returned to their arduous work schedules. But soon that week ended and Dick, alongside Babs, had to go back to their respective turfs. Which left him alone with Lian and Alfred.</p>
<p>           If Roy was honest, he really didn’t like that Jason was back on patrol so soon. He had been hoping that Jason could take some time off, but Jason’s excuse was a simple, ‘Crime doesn’t stop because we had a baby Roy.’ And it had kind of unsettled him how seriously Jason had said that. Within the few days since Lian’s birth, all of the protectiveness that Jason had during the pregnancy had shifted, and magnified by ten. Roy was protective of Lian too, but Jason was on a whole other level, even going as far as to wiping her after anyone so much as touched her to prevent her from getting sick.</p>
<p>         That translated into Jason’s vigilante work as well, Jason now seemed obsessed with the idea of making sure Gotham was safe for Lian, meaning he worked harder during patrols, and came back with a few more bruises than usual, but nothing serious, after all they were only dealing with petty thugs at the moment.</p>
<p>          Until they weren’t, Roy didn’t 100% understand how it started, but apparently something happened and now Batman and Robin were tracking down some guy named Ra’s Al Ghul. He had heard some rumors about the alpha, something about pits that made you immortal and an army of what basically seemed like ninjas to him. He didn’t let the ordeal concern him very much, that was until Jason came home straight from school one day and sat him down, “Roy, Bruce and I were able to track Ra’s to Europe. “</p>
<p>           “Europe? What exactly is he planning?”</p>
<p>           “He’s trying to bomb some banks in Bosnia. “</p>
<p>           “And you’re going, right?”</p>
<p>           “Yeah… Are you going to be okay if I go for a bit? It won’t be long.”</p>
<p>           “Well, if you’re going… then I want to go back to Star city for a while, let Oliver meet Lian in person, and that way I’ll have help with her while you’re gone!”</p>
<p>Jason smiled, “That sounds good. It’ll be good for you to get out of Gotham for a bit. I know how homesick you’ve been.”</p>
<p>           “Yeah, when are you leaving?”</p>
<p>           “Tonight, but I got some time to help you get ready and stuff.”</p>
<p>           Roy smiles and they both get ready, Jason changed before handling Lian while Roy packed. Jason sat in the nest with Lian laid out on her back, he would exercise her legs, gently moving then in a cycling motion before kissing her feet which send her into a fit of excited kicking and soft giggles. Jason kept playing with her like this until she got tired and he laid down with her on his chest. Jason rubbed small circles into her back and Lian fell asleep almost instantly. Roy loved watching Lian and Jason, they both just adored each other. Lian relaxed so easily with Jason, and Jason was so easily gentle with her. It was adorable and Roy always snuck a few pictures with his phone when he could. In fact, he already had a favorite so far, that being his phone wallpaper, a particular picture where Jason was cradling Lian close to his face with their cheeks pressed together while he sported a proud smile. It was the only picture that Jason really posed for.</p>
<p>           After packing up some necessities for himself and preparing Lian’s diaper bag he walked and lean over Jason, “Hey Jaybird, Imma have to steal her from you now~”</p>
<p>           Jason whined playfully, “Nooooo! She’s mine.”</p>
<p>           “Come on You gotta go with Bruce soon anyway, let me put her in the car seat while she’s still asleep, alright?”</p>
<p>           Jason slowly sat up, “Nah, I’ll put her in for you, go take you bags to the car, I’ll bring her down to you in the car seat.” Roy smiled and nodded, grabbing the bags and taking them down to his car and packed them away in the backseat before going back inside to find Jason coming down the stairs with Lian in the car seat. At the bottom Roy took her from Jason and nuzzled against his alpha’s cheek, “Thanks jaybird.”</p>
<p>           Jason crooned, “No problem, you drive safe alright, text me so I can see that you got to Oliver’s safe.”</p>
<p>           “Okay, you be safe out their too alright?” Roy smiled and kissed Jason before leaving with Lian. The trip was long, it had been awhile since he’d made the full trip from Gotham to Star city. Normally he’d just drive it, which amounted to a grueling 43-hour drive. But with Lian he decided to just take a plane instead. This shortened the trip to a mere 6-hour flight, but still by the time he arrived it was late, and he didn’t have his car so he called Dinah, it rung a few times before she answered, “Hello?”</p>
<p>            Roy was happy to hear her voice, he already couldn’t wait to see her, “Hey! Can you come pick me up?”</p>
<p>            “Huh? You’re in Star city? I thought you were staying in Gotham?”</p>
<p>            “Surprise visit! I brought Lian!”</p>
<p>            Dinah gasped, “I’m on my way, where are you?”</p>
<p>           “Airport. Driving would’ve been too hard on Lian.” After giving her the rest of the details Roy waited with Lian, sending a quick text to Jason to let him know he was alright, until Dinah’s car pulled up and she helped him strap the car seat and the rest of their stuff in. As the strapped Lian in and she woke up and started sniffing around, Dinah laughed, “What’s she doing?”</p>
<p>           “Lookin’ for her daddy.” Roy smiled and kissed her nose. He makes sure he blankets are tucked properly before getting in the front sear of the car with Dinah.</p>
<p>           “So, it safe to say Jason’s being good to the both of you?”</p>
<p>           “Yeah, he’s busy but he makes time for me and Lian. Lian fucking adores him though! When Jay is home the two of them are practically glued together.”</p>
<p>           “Aw. Where is he now?”</p>
<p>           “With Bats. They’re chasing Ra’s in Bosnia, I think. So, I figured that while he’s abroad I could come let you guys meet Lian in person.”</p>
<p>           Dinah smiled, “I’m glad, we’ve missed you around here. Oliver especially but he’ll never admit it. “</p>
<p>           “Does he know I here?”</p>
<p>           “Nope! We’re surprising him.”</p>
<p>           “Oh good, I love surprises.” Roy laughed, they made small talk for the rest of the car ride until the pulled into the drive way of the Queen residence. Dinah grabbed their bags while Roy got Lian. Dinah quietly opened the front door and set Roy’s things down, “Ollie? You home?” she called into the house and Roy came in behind her.</p>
<p>           There was a tired grunt from the living room. Dinah walked over to and Roy quietly followed behind her, but stopped at the doorway. Oliver was passed out on the couch, bandages around his stomach and arm. Dinah kneeled down beside him, “Hey lazy, I brought home a surprise~”</p>
<p>           He groaned, “Surprise…? What…? “Oliver rubbed his eyes and moved to sit up. He looked at Dinah, “What surprise?”</p>
<p>           Roy smirked, “Over here.”</p>
<p>           Oliver stood and looked at Roy, he smiled, “Roy! Your home!” it was long before the alpha was across the room and pulling Roy into a hug. He crooned lowly. Roy set the car seat gently on the floor and hugged back. Oliver pulled away, “I’m so sorry Roy, I should’ve- “</p>
<p>          “Don’t mention it…You’re here, now right? Just stick around and I’ll forgive you okay?”</p>
<p>           Oliver nods and looks at the car seat, he kneels down and smiles, “You brought the baby around too? She’s so cute! Can I hold her?” Roy nodded and unbuckled her for him. Oliver picked her up and a hand on her back and an arm under her butt to keep her secure. She naturally started sniffing at Oliver’s shoulder. She must’ve liked his sent since she seemed to relax in his arms, trying to go back to sleep. Oliver gushed, “She has Jason’s hair.”</p>
<p>           “Yeah! Got my eyes though. “Roy set the car seat aside as Oliver sat on the couch with Lian, he sucked in a breath.</p>
<p>           Dinah gave Oliver a look, “What’s with the bandages? I was gone for a day.”</p>
<p>           “I tripped.” Ollie smirked at her</p>
<p>           Dinah growled, “Ollie you fucking liar.”</p>
<p>           He shrugged it off and nuzzled Lian, “Don’t listen to grandma, she’s mean~”</p>
<p>           Dinah growled again, “Ollie, stop.”</p>
<p>           Roy laughed, Dinah and Oliver were both alphas, they loved each other but as a pair of mated alphas they had a bad habit of constantly challenging each other for dominance, or other forms of alpha posturing like trying to prove how tough they were, this what Oliver was currently doing. It was never to serious and usually only ever amounted to teasing and maybe sparring if they were particularly pent up. Oliver was injured, so it’d only go as far as teasing for now.</p>
<p>           Oliver got serious, “Really, I’m fine. Picked a fight with a big guy, he got a few lucky hits in. I took care of him though. So, no need for you to go on a rampage for my sake okay?”</p>
<p>           Dinah huffed, “As if I’d ever do that for you.” Roy knew that was a total lie, if someone really hurt Oliver, he knew that Dinah would track who ever had done it and beat the shit out of them and Oliver would do the same for Dinah.</p>
<p>           Ollie laughed and whispered to Lian again, “See? She’s means. But it’s okay, she loves us.”</p>
<p>           Roy laughed, “Let her sleep. It’s late and It’d be nice if she could stay asleep for as long as possible.”</p>
<p>           “Why? She loud at night or something?”</p>
<p>           “Not really, she’s actually pretty good at night, but Jason’s not going to be around to put her back to sleep tonight, so she’s probably gonna get dramatic about it. She’s used to him being the one to get up when she wakes up in the middle of the night.”</p>
<p>           “Ooh! I get it, this is her first night without Jason around to spoil her.”</p>
<p>           “Yeah. Exactly, so I’m kinda dreading tonight as it is. Let me have silence while I can, you can play with her as much as you want in the morning.” Oliver nodded and Roy went to his room to get it ready for him and Lian to go to bed. Once everything was ready, Oliver brought her in and laid her down for him while Roy plopped down into his bed.</p>
<p>           Roy had been right about Lian being Dramatic that night. She woke up and he got up to fed her and put her back to sleep, but as soon as she smelt that he wasn’t Jason, she started screeching as loudly as her little voice would let her. Roy had to rock her for a hour before he tuckered herself out and fell back to sleep.  Roy let himself sleep for two hours before he forces himself up and woke her for feeding again. The doctors made a point of feeding her every three hours, consistently, and while that was easy to manage during the day, at night it was a pain in the ass that he was glad to pass of to Jason. But, for the next few nights he was going to have to do it and he was already hating it.</p>
<p>           After that first night Roy let Dinah and Oliver tag in on taking care of Lian during the day while he caught up on sleep, then at night he’d take back over to make  sure she was properly fed at night.</p>
<p>           Before long a week had passed, and Roy was starting to worry, Jason should’ve been back by now, but he hadn’t heard from Jason at all. He was starting to worry but he figured that things were just dragging on, missions liked these tended to get complicated fast, Roy knew that.</p>
<p>           Then another week had passed, and there was still nothing from Jason. Roy tried calling Bruce but it went straight to voicemail. Then he tried calling dick, but apparently the titans were doing a mission up in space. No one was picking up, and when his mating mark started fade Roy really started to panic. He didn’t get any sleep and when he saw the fading scar on his shoulder he went into denial, instead covering it up and pretending that it was all okay.</p>
<p>            It was early evening one night as he sat in the living room With Lian curled in his arms. He grabbed the remote and flipped the tv on, and as he expected the news was on. But he froze when he saw a picture of Jason’s face on the tv, he remembered that picture, Jason’s hair was combed over and he was wearing a turtle neck with a dress coat over it. That picture was taken at some gala that Bruce held some time before Jason marked him. Roy vaguely remembered Jason talking about how much he hated that picture, he had said something along the lines of, “I’m a street rat from Gotham, this prim and proper shit isn’t me.” And Roy couldn’t help but agree with that, ‘Prim and proper’ really didn’t suit him, it just looked wrong to Roy.</p>
<p>           Then he actually heard what the news anchor was saying, “-Tragedy strikes the Wayne family again. This time to the Wayne industries CEO’s adopted son and ward Jason Todd was caught in a terrorist bombing in Sarajevo, Bosnia- “</p>
<p>           Roy’s heart went cold and he stopped listening at that point. Everything felt like it was crumbling, he felt his face burn and his head hurt as he struggled to breath properly. He suddenly felt weak as his hand trembled uncontrollably. Eventually he remembered the weight he was carrying, he looked down at Lian as tears started stinging the corner of his eyes. She looked back up at him and almost immediately started crying, like she knew why her mama was so upset all of a sudden, and maybe she did.</p>
<p>           Roy felt a sharp pain in his chest and held Lian as tightly to his chest as he could, as if her presence there could ease the pain. He vague heard the voices of Oliver and Dinah trying to get through to him, but they sounded distant, and he didn’t really care for what they had to say anyway. Instead he shook as he sobbed loudly alongside Lian’s wailing.</p>
<p>           Roy’s Alpha and Lian’s father, Jason Todd, was gone.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey everyone!<br/>Updated a bit early! And I went a bit overboard, I meant to write only 4,000 word but instead I ended up somewhere around 12000.<br/>And as for Lian's name, I figured since she's Roy and Jason's child it only makes sense to change it a little, if it's bad, I'm sorry.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. But I Couldn't Stop for Death</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Bit of a warning, things get pretty sad and angsty this chapter, and there's a scene at the end that covers Jason's resurrections in the laz pit, and it can be considered a bit graphic/detailed, so be warned.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>              Gotham City.</p><p>              Roy hated it. Every towering gray buildings and dark alley ways that only served to remind Roy of <em>him. </em>Walking down the streets of Gotham, Roy could’ve sworn that he heard Jason shouting at him a few times. Or whenever he’d look down into an alley, he would catch a glimpse of Jason only to find that it was someone else. It hurt, everything about Gotham just screamed Jason, and how couldn’t it? Jason was a born and raised Gothamite, and Gothamites were all a different sort of breed sometimes, Jason especially.</p><p>              Roy hated all of it, he wanted to be able to reminisce about all of the stupid dates they had in this damned city, but just thinking of Jason’s name was enough to send a painful twinge through the rapidly fading mark on his neck. This was of course the result of Jason’s death, mating marks that faded in these circumstances normally would be almost completely gone within 2-4 months, normally this process starts the moment the mate dies and the process that follows is a series of phantom pains (the severity of which varies from person to person) which accompanied by the grief of losing a loved one creating a tragic and miserable depression cocktail. Unfortunately for Roy, the pain he felt was nearly debilitating, his pain was particularly severe. If he let himself think too much about his lost alpha, the twinging pain would morph into an intense ache that spread down all the way to his feet and up to his head, along with a sharp stabbing pain in his chest that never failed to make him sway. Maybe this intensity was because not only was Jason his mate, but he was the father of his first child. Or maybe, as a more superstitious person might say, it was because they were a fated pair. Roy rarely entertained the thought that it was that it was both. Since, if that were the case then, he feared that there’d be no end to his grief. And being in Gotham certainly wasn’t helping it at this particular moment.</p><p>              Roy felt the twinge in his mark as soon as Wayne manor came into view. Oliver stopped the car at the gates while Dinah looked back at Roy. Roy could feel himself trembling as the expression on her face morphed into one of concern, “Roy…we don’t have to go… Everyone will understand if you decide it’s too much.”</p><p>              Roy shook his head, “N-no… I want to go… I need to talk to Bruce…and get the rest of my things…” Roy didn’t mean to sound as tired as he did but it was out of his control now, instead he turns away from Dinah to check on Lian in her car seat. Of course, she was sleeping, it had been a long few days and they’d all be lying if nobody said they were tired.</p><p>              Oliver pulled into the driveway and parked, there were a few other cars parked there. Roy only recognized Dick’s car there, messily parked in the grass, as expected Dick was probably handling this nearly as bad as he was. From what Roy had heard Dick found out a week after Roy had, and instead of hearing it on the news, Dick was going through news articles and newspapers to find a lead for the Titans when he’d just stumbled upon an article about Jason. Of course, he was pissed, Roy almost wished that he had the energy to feel that kind of rage, but between his own grief, the pains radiating from his mark, and Lian, he just couldn’t bring himself to. Plus, Dinah and Oliver were already mad enough for him.</p><p>              Roy was snapped out of his thoughts once Oliver opened the door on Lian’s side and smiled softly, Roy appreciated it, “Don’t worry about her, I’ll get her. Just focus on yourself for a bit.” Roy nodded and gingerly scooted to his door and got out of the car. Roy looked up at the doors to the mansion and winced as pain shot through his body again, he took a few breaths and tried to clear his head before forcing himself up the steps and to the door. As he got closer, he was able to hear the roaring inside, he flinched just slightly, that was Dick’s voice. He’d never heard Dick yell like that before, so he hesitated for a moment before knocking as loudly as his fatigued arms would let him. The yelling immediately stopped, and Dinah came up behind him with Oliver and Lian.</p><p>              As expected, it was Alfred who answered the door, although he was lacking the usual polite optimism and was instead twisted with grief. Alfred’s face somehow fell even further into despair once his eyes landed on Roy, “Master Harper…” Roy couldn’t respond so they stood in an awful silence before Alfred moved to let them in, “Please, come in sir…”</p><p>              When they walked in, Alfred led them to the dining room where a disheveled Bruce sat at the table, nursing a bruised cheek while Dick was leaning back against the wall, his arms crossed, his knuckles bruised and his eyes practically glowing with unrestrained rage, Barbara at his side in her wheel chair, uselessly trying to talk sense into him. Surprisingly Clark and Diana sat at the table as well, and a woman with dark hair that he didn’t really recognize stood behind Bruce.</p><p>They all looked at him, he hated the pity that he was already seeing in their eyes. Roy frowned and opened his mouth to speak but Dick put a sock in that plan once he crossed the room and caught Roy in a hug, “Fuck! Roy…!” Dick’s voice cracked as he clung to Roy. Roy was startled into silence, and Dick continued, “Fuck! I’m so sorry Roy…” Dick’s voice wavered, and Roy knew that this idiot of an alpha was already blaming himself.</p><p>              Roy frowned at that, “What are you apologizing for? This isn’t on you Dickie…” he wrapped his arms around Dick and rubbing his back as soothingly as he could, doing this turned out to be as much of a comfort for Roy as it was for Dick.</p><p>              Dick shook as he restrained his tears, “I know that…I know…but still I…” he took a breath and pulled away a little, “I worry about you…”</p><p>              Roy sighs, “And I’m worried about you too dumbass. This isn’t easy for any of us…” Roy pulls away and gently pushes dick to a chair, “Come on, let’s just sit and talk.”  After Dick settled, Roy looked at the others. Clark looked away from him anxiously, the man clearly had no idea what to say to him. Oliver and Dinah sat down with Lian. Diana tried to give him a reassuring smile, but Roy wasn’t truly receiving it. And then there was Bruce, he refused to look at any of them, he just darkly glared at the table while holding a glass filled with ice to his bruised and swelling cheek while the unknown woman behind him looked down at Bruce sympathetically. Roy took a breath to steady himself when another twinging pain in his neck started up again, “Bru-…. Bruce. “Roy choked up a little but he quickly recovered, “Bruce…I need to know. What the fuck happened out there? “Once Roy forced the question, that was really more of a demand, the entire room froze. Roy didn’t care how much it hurt to ask, or how much it’d hurt to know, he just needed to know. So, Roy watched Bruce intensely as the twinging started to spread into a dull ache.</p><p>              Bruce slammed his glass down, anguished, and the woman reached out and grabbed his shoulder to soothe him. He didn’t respond to her attempt to comfort him, instead he was solely focused on Roy and Lian. He growled, “Careless. I was stupid and careless! Jason. He wasn’t even supposed to come to Bosnia… It was irresponsible of me not to send him back as soon as I caught him…”</p><p>              Roy’s heart ached for what felt like the millionth time that week, “Wait…what do you mean he wasn’t-? He said...”</p><p>              Bruce elaborated, “He probably didn’t mention it to you. But up until Bosnia, Jason and I had been arguing more than usual… He felt that we weren’t doing enough against the criminals of Gotham. He’s always wanted to crack down on crime, but with Barbara’s accident…He got more persistent about it. And now with Lian, he started demanding that we change our methods. It got to the point that he overstepped often. Started lashing out at me in frustration and regularly sent criminals to the hospital. There was even an incident where he…Never mind, that’s not relevant.”</p><p>Bruce took a moment to compose himself, mentioning whatever this incident was seemed visibly shake the alpha. Then he continued,” So, when I got leads pertaining to Ra’s Al Ghul, I told him to sit this one out. And when he told me that he was going off to Star City with you and Lian, I was glad. He needed time away from being robin…”</p><p>              Roy stared in disbelief, “He lied…?” Roy’s body continued to ache with his heart as he tried his damned-est to pull himself together. Roy knew what Bruce was talking about with Jason’s insistence on being stricter with Gotham’s criminals, but he had no idea that it had progressed to this point. Jason had only confided in him about this twice, so to find out that this was a frequent issue between Bruce and Jason was a shock, clearly Jason had been hiding things from him. Now Roy sat that reevaluating every conversation they had, searching his memories for the signs. Like, off-handed comments after seeing a new report about the Joker or some other criminal being sent to Arkham asylum again. But, Roy didn’t want to believe that Jason would go as far as to lie to him about this for so long. Roy’s eyes snapped back up to Bruce with disbelief, this was already too much.</p><p>              Bruce sighed, seeing the question written in Roy’s eyes, “Yes. He deceived all of us. Even Alfred.”</p><p>              Alfred nodded,” Master Jason had told me that you had decided to go to Star City on your own, and that he was heading to the airport to join you, I believed him when I got a text late that evening letting me know you both arrived safely…”</p><p>              Bruce took back over, “When I caught him in Bosnia, I assumed that he had followed me. But in reality, he had tracked the joker there as well. We were able to figure out that Ra’s and the Joker were working together, planting uranium bombs. And for the moment it seemed that the tension between us was eased. And with Jason’s help, we were able to tip the odds into our favor. “</p><p>              Dick growls as he puts a hand on Roy’s shaking shoulders, “Right…Can you speed this up? Roy can’t take much more of this.”</p><p>Roy glared at Dick, sure his entire body felt like it was being crushed, and he was likely trembling once again, he needed to power his way through this. But Bruce finally finished recounting Jason’s death before Roy could speak, “I left Jason to keep a watch on the Joker while I chased down a truck shipment. I warned him not to go in alone...I came rushing back to help him, but I was a few seconds too late.” Bruce’s hand clenched around his glass tightly, so much so that it began to crack, and the woman squeezed his shoulder to snap him out of it.</p><p>               At that, any restraint that Roy was clinging to was lost, he cried out and dissolved into a fit of sobs. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out from the pain and the exhaustion were Dick’s arms and Lian’s scent.</p><p>               The next day they held a small funeral for Jason. Bruce, Dick, and Alfred buried him in Gotham cemetery, along with the rest of the Wayne family. Bruce, the dark-haired woman that he now knew to be Selina Kyle (he vaguely remembered Jason talking about her, the two of them were close), and Alfred spoke for Jason, Roy would’ve joined them, but knew that if he even said one word, he’d lose it again. Instead, he stood by Dick with a sleeping Lian clutched in his arms. The three of them were completely silent.</p>
<hr/><p>                Bruce said his goodbyes after the funeral. Clark and Diana were the first to leave. Selina had disappeared at some point as well; he actually missed the omega’s presence. Dick and Barbara helped Roy gather his and the baby’s belongings. And he went with them to the airport to see them off before seeing Dick and Barbara off as well. Barbara went home to her father. Dick stuck around the manor for a bit longer.</p><p>                In the Batcave the former duo took each other’s company in silence. Bruce typed hastily on the computer, blindly trying to find leads on the Joker. Bruce appreciated the silence, it fueled his focus, silence was so hard to come by with Jason and Dick, but now it seemed he’d be getting a lot of it with both of his sons being gone. With Dick pursuing his own path and Jason… gone.</p><p>                The computer gave him nothing he could use. There were no new details on the Joker. It seemed that the clown was laying low. Bruce snarled to himself, the clown should be hiding, he could only imagine what he’d do when he finally crossed paths with the joker once again.</p><p>                Dick grabbed his shoulder, he must’ve snarled too loudly, but Dick spoke before he could get back to work, “Bruce…You should head to bed…”</p><p>                “No.” Bruce slammed his fist down, “No! I need to keep going.”</p><p>                “Bruce…Dad! There’s no leads right now! You can’t start chasing after someone who’s not there. You know how he is; he’ll pop back up soon. Until then, you need to give yourself time.”</p><p>                Bruce looked up at his eldest son, they weren’t blood, but Bruce still had a hand in raising him, he liked to think they were kindred spirits in the sense that they were both orphans. That alone was enough to make Bruce care, but it was Dick’s heart that really made Bruce’s chest swell with fatherly pride. Bruce was glad for Dick’s heart; Dick was much more of a compassionate person than he himself believed he could ever be. And while sometimes, he’d scold Dick for letting it get in the way, he’d never have Dick change. Bruce was lucky to be able to call this young alpha his son, to be able to stand by and support him however he could, and now here that boy was, a grown man now, trying to comfort him instead. Bruce smiled softly and put a hand on Dicks arm, “Thanks…I think I’ll actually take that advice.”</p><p>                Dick blinked comically, “Really? You will? No bullshit??”</p><p>                Bruce gave him a look, “First, language. And yes, you’re right. I can’t let this consume me. We all need to mourn properly.”</p><p>                “Mourn properly?”</p><p>                “Yes, if I hunt him down, I’ll kill him. “</p><p>                “He should die.” Dick growled, his hand clenching on Bruce’s shoulder so tightly that it stung. Bruce stared for a moment; he was still shocked at how hostile Dick had become in the shadow of Jason’s death. It was entirely understandable, and Bruce wasn’t going to fault him for it, but it was still a weird reminder that no matter how much Dick had softened, he still really was an alpha and that there was still that angry and frustrated child residing deep down somewhere in Dick’s chest, like a secret that he buried deep down. But Bruce knew, it was another trait that he and his sons shared.</p><p>                 In Dick’s youth, Bruce assumed his son would present as a beta, like his parents, and he should no symptoms that hinted otherwise. No early sighs of aggression beyond what was typical in their ‘line of work’, the boy simply went into a rut completely out of nowhere. Dick’s presentation hit hard, fast, and was completely unexpected. Even during his first rut, Dick was still as soft as ever. It was so odd that Bruce was convinced that there might’ve been something wrong with Dick hormonally. But Dick was perfectly healthy and normal in that regard, Bruce feared that Dick was bottling his emotions and his instincts a bit too much, scared of lashing out even a little. Nothing like Jason-</p><p>                Bruce quickly shook his head, trying to will away the sudden tangent, “No. We can’t stoop down to that…It’ll be hard… But you know that once we cross that line there’s no turning back. “</p><p>                Dick pulls away with a huff, “Right…Right…” Dick leaned against the Bat computer and crossed his arms. Bruce watched as his son took a moment to calm down and think, “Sorry… I don’t know what’s gotten into me…” Dick paused and looked at Bruce’s bruised cheek with guilt in his eyes, “Im sorry about that too…”</p><p>                “No, I deserved it.” Bruce admits. Bruce decided he’d encourage this, if punching him let Dick vent then he’d gladly bare it, besides, a bruised cheek was nothing compared to other injures he’d obtained in the past.</p><p>                Dick nods, “Yup…So…To bed you go?”</p><p>                “Yeah. You too. Head home.”</p><p>                “I can’t just leave you here!” Dick insisted, still as selfless as ever.</p><p>                “It’s fine. Go back to Bludhaven. To the titans. I’ll call when I need you.” Bruce steeled himself a bit, he wasn’t lying, he would need Dick. He’d need Dick to remind him that he’s not alone in this loss, and he’d need him to hold him back when he finally does track down the joker. And Dick needed his friends, Bruce couldn’t be Dick’s only pillar of support in their grief. Especially since Bruce was never very good at this sort of thing. Until now, he’s only ever grieved alone, that mindset wouldn’t help Dick. And the titans were probably better at providing comfort than he was.</p><p>                 Dick sighed nonetheless, “Okay. I’ll go. I’ll come and check up on you in a few days though alright…? That’s cool right…?”</p><p>                 “Of course.” Bruce tried to offer a reassuring smile. It seemed to work since Dick returned the gesture before giving him one last hug and leaving.</p><p>                 Bruce waited until he saw Dick’s car leave through his surveillance system. Before shutting the bat computer off an getting up. Bruce quietly and gingerly made his way up to his bedroom. passing Alfred at the stairs.</p><p>                 “Master Bruce...?” Alfred stared down at Bruce with concern, probably surprised that he wasn’t on a wild goose chase for the Joker.</p><p>                 Bruce sighed, he was too exhausted right now for that anyway, and it was a guarantee that he’d be back on that particular chase as soon as he woke up anyway. This was only a moment of grief that Bruce was allowing for himself to ease Dick’s concerns. So, he continued past Alfred, “Goodnight Alfred.” He went straight to his room and shut the door behind him.</p><p>                 He froze there and looked around the room almost feverishly, sniffing once, he wasn’t alone.</p><p>                 Quickly a familiar woman showed herself with her hands up in surrender, Selina, “Relax, just me.” Selina dropped her hands and made her way to Bruce’s bed. She was already settled into one of his shirts and a pair of his boxers as a set of last-minute pajamas, or a rouse to distract his heart, since they were both well aware that seeing her like this was a treat for the alpha. But she made no move to seduce Bruce as she typically would, instead she reached out for him, “Come here.”</p><p>                  Bruce obeyed, a bit too easily for his taste but tonight was not the night to scold himself for it. Before long he had ditched his shirt and his dress pants and sat next to Selina on the bed in nothing but his briefs. At this point he restrained himself, turning so that his back faced her and his legs danged off of the edge of his side of the bed, “Selina… I’m not…” he trailed off.</p><p>                  “You know that’s not what I’m here for. I can’t either…” She scooched closer to his and started tracing the line of his spine with her nails. Bruce almost instantly growled in pleasure, losing his grip on restraint just long enough to inhale Selina’s scent. The first thing that collided with Bruce’s nose was the scent of Selina’s cats, she pampered them often so it was natural that their scents were smeared all over her along with the pungent scent of catnip that accompanied it. Then there was the stench of leather, iron, and something else that was unique to Gotham. Finally, beneath that was the scent of something floral and sharp, he couldn’t place his finger on what flower he could liken it to, after all he had little to no time to be sniffing flowers to try and pin point the name of it, but that also wasn’t to imply that he hadn’t tried on multiple occasions, he just knew that he favored it. That floral scent was subtle, hard to find unless you knew to look for it, and Bruce found a simple comfort in it. Bruce leaned into her touch and continued to softly growl.</p><p>                   Selina purred and leaned forward, her forehead resting on his shoulder, “I miss him already…”</p><p>                   Bruce stayed quiet.</p><p>                   “He was mine too…both of them are…Dick and jay…they’re my babies…even if I didn’t bring them into the world… You understand what I mean….”</p><p>                    Bruce reaches back and tangles his fingers into her hair, “I understand.”</p><p>                    “You were too hard on him Bruce…”</p><p>                    Bruce unintentionally tugged at her hair, not enough to hurt but only as a byproduct of his hand clenching with guilt, “I know.”</p><p>                    “After your arguments, he’d come to me. And I’d comfort him…”</p><p>                    “I know…I allowed it… You and Jason are the same, I figured you’d be able to help him where I couldn’t.”</p><p>                    Selina scoffed, “Of course you knew…”</p><p>                    Bruce sighed, “When was the last time you-? “</p><p>                    “When his baby girl was born. He texted and called… I was supposed to meet her officially this week… I guess I still did…” Selina trailed off. With that they fell into silence for some time before Selina pulled away. For a moment Bruce silently panicked, scared that she’d decided to leave, instead he felt the omega’s hands grabbing his shoulders and easing him into bed. He let her. Once he was on his back, he looked up at her at his side, she was sitting up still staring down at him with an intensity that matched his own stare. Bruce moved his hands down to her waist and easily hoisted her up onto him so that she was straddling him.</p><p>                    Selina glared and nails dug into his chest, “Bruce…” she almost snarled, but Bruce ignored her outrage. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down until her chest was flush with his own. Selina gasped softly, realizing Bruce’s intentions now. She reached over and pulled the blanket over them before wrapping her own arms around Bruce’s neck. They silently laid like this, basking in the comfort of each other’s presence until they both fell asleep.</p>
<hr/><p>                    Dick returned to Titan tower late, everyone was already asleep. He didn’t bother trying to wake them or disturb them, he didn’t have the energy for it anymore. He didn’t have the energy for anything right now. He made sure the tower was locked down before wandering to his room and promptly crashing onto his bed. He didn’t even bother changing. He just laid down and closed his eyes. Unconsciousness swept over him very quickly.</p><p>                     He slept fitfully through the night, tossing and turning and <em>snarling</em>. Even in his dreams he was outraged. In his dreams he dreamt of the joker, of how he’d crush the damned clown. He dreamt of revenge that night.</p><p>                     It filled every corner of his mind.</p><p>                     Over and over, he’d destroy the joker, and it satisfied him for just a moment until the scenario looped and the Joker was up again, <em>Laughing at him.</em></p><p>                     Taunting him with his failure, his failure to protect his little brother, to protect Barbara, everyone. Dick loathed it.</p><p>                     Dick put him down again and again, but quickly his rage grew to the point that he could’ve sworn that his blood was actually boiling and something else grew along with it. A squeezing sensation in his chest. After the 100<sup>th</sup> time he’d gone through this loop, he started seeing Jason.</p><p>                     He started whimpering now, repeatedly reaching out to save Jason, but failing each time. And the Joker laughed and laughed. Dick reached out again to try and finish the joker again but instead he caught Jason in his arms, a scared and beaten Jason, desperately grabbing onto Dick.</p><p>                      Jason squeezed, so hard that Dick was sure it was real, and he sobbed, “Dick… <em>Please- “</em></p><p>                      Dick awoke with a roar, “<em>JASON!</em>” he jumped out of bed and searched. Feverishly sniffed and looking for Jason, or the threat that was the Joker. He didn’t notice the way his entire body was trembling like he hadn’t slept at all, or the concerned shouts of his friends when they barged in.</p><p>                       He panted hoarsely and the situation finally started to process. He was in his room, in Titan tower. He slowly looked down and saw his bed, and for a second he thought that Beast boy must’ve been there with all of the claw marks that had ravaged his pillows and blankets, but a moment of thought corrected that assumption. He was suffering through a nightmare, at some point he must’ve went at least a little feral, and the thought of that alone terrified Dick.</p><p>                      He crumbled into a heap on the floor.</p><p>              He sobbed, everything felt wrong. Jason was gone and he felt like he was losing it. Dick had never let his anger get to him this much before, he was spiraling out of control and he wasn’t sure how to pull himself out of it. He’d always repressed these things, his grief when his parents were murdered, his anxiety when he presented for the first time, his fear whenever things got particularly rough, his guilt when Barbara was shot by the joker and was paralyzed from the waist down, his rage when all those damn lunatics wouldn’t stop hurting the people he loved, or his paranoia of getting too close to anyone for fear of losing them or seeing them hurt because of him but still being too scared of being alone to actually push anyone away; instead keeping them at a distance that likely hurt them anyway, and now the death of his little brother Jason. It was all finally overwhelming him, and he couldn’t cope with all of this at once. The more he dwelled on it, the more it hurt and petrified him, Dick started feeling cold and nauseous, and he didn’t bother trying to quell the disgusting whimpers and sobs that were escaping his mouth.</p><p>              But then he remembered, he wasn’t alone. The voices of his friends started to register to him.</p><p>              Starfire was the loudest, “Dick, please calm down! It’s us! Your friends are all here for you!” That did nothing to comfort him, in fact he was trying to desperately reign himself in, he was the leader here! An alpha! He couldn’t let his team see him like this.</p><p>              Beast boy was panicking behind her shouting about getting this or that, Raven growled at him and they went silent. He definitely didn’t like the sound of that.</p><p>              Cyborg and Kaldur were the voices of reason, forcing everyone into silence and to ‘please give him space!’ honestly Dick didn’t even notice that they had been crowding him, but they were, and it wasn’t helping.</p><p>              Dick scrubbed at his face with his palms and forced his voice to cooperate, “Guys….” They all went quiet and he continued, “I’m okay… Really… Just a rough nightmare…” Dick pointedly ignores the crack in his voice or the fact that he was blatantly lying.</p><p>              Unfortunately, they weren’t standing for it, Kaldur made a skeptical sound, “No! You’re not fine-! “</p><p>              Dick snapped and roared, “If I say I’m fine, then I’m fine! Period. End of discussion!” Dick insisted, some of that wrath he felt in his dreams returning to him, making him dizzy from the emotional whiplash. He turned and glared at them, but the moment he saw their faces his rage crumbled. They all were looking at him with distress written plainly on their faces, and now Dick was back to guilting himself for letting his heart get the better of him in front of them. His eyes started to sting with fresh tears and he quickly turned away, “Fuck! I’m sorry! Just go…Im fine…” Dick lost track of his words as he started rambling, trying to persuade the others to leave.</p><p>              But he was interrupted when he felt a rush of wind, carrying the comforting fragrance of fruit, and arms quickly wrapped around him. He looked up and saw Wally hugging him, “Wally…?”</p><p>              Wally buried his head into Dick’s shoulder and whined, “Dicky…It’s okay.”  With that the other titans filed out of the room, probably to wait for Wally to drag Dick out for breakfast soon, but that was the last thing on his mind. No, right now Dick was staring at the redheaded omega speedster that was clinging to him like he was about to float away. Dick opened his mouth to try and express something, but nothing came out. Wally filled the silence in his place, “Dicky… you don’t have to be tough in front of us… we’re here for you.” Wally said with a finality that actually succeeded to comfort him unlike when Starfire had said the same thing and failed. Somehow it was different when Wally said it in that tone. Dick attributed this to the fact that Wally was the one he considered his best friend. They trusted each other, while Dick wasn’t really forth coming with his true feelings Wally’s presence in his life had always been a comforting one.</p><p>That’s why he had never pursued Wally romantically or sexually, he didn’t want that kind of drama to ruin their friendship, considering Dick’s history with one-night stands and past relationships that didn’t really end to well. He wanted a mate, he really did, but the paranoia about hurting the people he loves always weaseled its way in like an unwanted visitor, and it the intensity of that paranoia was too much for many of his past lovers to handle. But he was always the one to cut it off, since that paranoia was too much for him to handle as well. One might call him a coward for constantly giving in like that, but Dick assumed it’d all work out for the best in the end, better than being like some stereotypical alpha and getting violently possessive and protective. That was the last thing Dick wanted, and he certainly never wanted to taint his friendship with Wally with all of that messiness.</p><p>              Wally kept silently comforting Dick, nuzzling further into Dicks neck and rubbing circles into his back. Dick felt some of the tension that was building, leave his body. He purred softly and leaned into and returned Wally’s hug. Dick whispered, “Keep talking…please…”</p><p>              Wally nodded and they sat there in each other’s arms, Wally rambling about anything and everything until Dick finally relaxed. It took Dick an hour before he finally felt like whatever had overwhelmed him had faded away.</p><p>              And suddenly Dick noticed just how awkward all of this was. Now with a clearer mind, still a bit hazy from exhaustion, he started to process how incredibly embarrassing and dramatic all of that was. He pressed his forehead into Wally shoulder, cursing his melodramatic tendencies. He’d really outdone himself this time. How could be possibly face everyone at breakfast now? He won’t! He’s not going to even acknowledge any of this. At least that’s what he was planning until Wally pulled away and looked at him with watery eyes and a concerning frown, “Dicky, you need to talk too. I have no idea what you’re planning in that head of yours.”</p><p>              Dick stared, didn’t know his ass, Wally always had a knack for sensing when Dick was planning something stupid and half the time he’d play along, the other half he put an end to it because it was obviously detrimental to him. This instance played into the latter category, “Nothing… “ Dick panicked he needed to redirect this before Wally brought up anything that meant talking about his feelings, “…Just thinking about how nice you smell.” Yes, perfect, friendly flirting. That was a thing he could do. He absolutely wouldn’t regret that.</p><p>              Wally flushed and shoved Dick away, “Yeah right stud. Nice try.”</p><p>              Dick decided he wouldn’t stop there, he wasn’t in the clear yet, if he wanted Wally to forget about how he’d just had an episode in front of everyone he was going to have to go ham on the flirting, Wally will be to overwhelmed to even remember to mention it. Then they’d both go out the room looking much calmer and he’d shut down any further attempts to not talk about this, a perfect plan with absolutely no flaws. Dick scoots back over to Wally, quickly wiping his face before smiling at him, “No really, I mean it. You smell like fruit. I love it.” Dick comforts himself with the fact that he at least wasn’t lying.</p><p>              Wally’s blush darkens, “Come on Dicky. You can’t just dish out compliments like that without a warning…It’s lethal.” Wally stares at his face for a moment, their eyes meeting briefly with an intensity that Dick wasn’t ready to process right now, before hastily turning away. Oh no, it was too affective! Not getting romantically involved with Wally who? Not ruining friendships when? So, Dick immediately switches topics ignoring the blush heating his own cheeks, “Hey, how about we get some food? I’m exhausted.” Yes, more misdirection, except less emotionally charged this time. Dick stands up, pulling Wally up with him, “Let’s go?”</p><p>              Wally nods, “Yeah!” Dick loops his arm around Wally’s shoulder and leads the way to the kitchen. He didn’t notice the blush that failed to fade away or the sliver of concern that was still showed itself in his eyes.</p><p>              When they got to the dining room, the obstacle they had to pass in order to get to the kitchen, everyone was already sitting at the table eating silently. Dick screamed inside his heart, this wasn’t a good sign, especially not now that everyone was looking at him. He released Wally and chuckled anxiously, “Hey…”</p><p>              Unsurprisingly Kaldur was the first to speak, “Richard.” Another omen, no one called him by his full name unless it was serious, “I don’t relish in having to be the one to say this, but we’re worried about you… “</p><p>              The others nodded along, beast boy even spoke up, “Yeah man! Ever since you found out, you’ve been kind of going on a rampage…” And cyborg continued that line of thought, “We get it… You lost your brother man… That’s rough, we get it man. <em>I</em> get it.” Dick couldn’t argue with that.</p><p>              Starfire nodded, “Jason was a most valuable friend to all of us, we’re upset too!” Dick blinked as everyone agreed with Starfire and started commenting about how horrible losing Jason is, and how amazing Jason was. Dick stared dumbfounded as everyone except Wally and Raven started bullshitting him to his face trying to convince him that they actually cared about Jason. And something dark and nasty clenched his stomach, he felt sick, none of this was true. He was there when Jason came to him with his troubles, he remembered how Jason stopped agreeing to help Titans on missions after the first few times. He snarled loudly, “<em>Stop it</em>.” He didn’t care about how his voice dropped to a growl, or about how everyone flinched before quickly silencing themselves. That was the first time he’d really used ‘the alpha voice’ as it was stupidly named, but he didn’t care. If they wanted to force him to voice his feelings with them, then he would do so, as brutally honest as he could.</p><p>              “Are you even listening to what you’re saying right now? Do you actually mean any of it?” Dick’s voice steadily rose with his anger, “You all cared about Jason? Really? Where was all of this when he was alive?!” Dick slammed his fist on the nearest surface and they all flinched again, “None of you were singing his praises when he was actually around! None of you even acknowledged him until you found out that he was the new robin! And even then, none of you cared until he accidentally knocked up Roy! No! All you’ve ever done is judge and criticize him because he’s nothing like me!”</p><p>              Now they stopped and gasped and one of them, Dick didn’t care to register who exactly, tried to argue, “That’s not true-!”</p><p>              “It’s not? Well Jason definitely didn’t know! You wanna know what he thought? What he told me?” Dick paused, none of them responded but he continued anyway, “He believed that all of you hated him! That’s why he stopped going on missions with us! “Dick roared.</p><p>              Everyone at the table looked away, of course they did, there was nothing they could say to that. Dick panted as the last of his rage faded away only leaving more exhaustion in its place. They all waited in silence until Wally took Dick’s hand, “Dicky… You know that’s not what they were trying to say. None of us were close to Jay like you and Roy were. It’s too late to do anything about that now.” He paused solemnly turning Dick around so that they were facing each other. Dick found himself lost in Wally’s eyes again, they were an intense green, and filled with something that Dick refused to name. Wally shook him a little, “But, you’re still here… and we’re your friends… let us help you. Don’t bottle this up Dick. It’ll tear you apart, and I refuse to watch you struggle like that.”</p><p>              Dick stared, oh no, his eyes were burning again. That plan meant to prevent all of this had failed and now here he was crying in front of his team once again. How was Wally this good at calming him down? Wasn’t he pissed just a second ago? All that rage was a distant memory now. Was there such a thing as an emotional support omega? Wally would probably excel in that career if it did exist.</p><p>              Dick opened his mouth but Wally shushed him, “No. Today is Dicky day. We’re all going to the big nest and we’re spoiling you. Not just because you’re grieving but because you deserve it. You’re always going out of your way for us. “Wally smile d at him, and Dicks heart definitely did not skip a beat. Dick had no time to register that before Wally started ordering everyone around for this apparent ‘Dicky day’ then proceeded to yank Dick to the living room.</p><p>              Before long Dick was being settled into the communal titan nest, a mote like structure built of their spare blankets and pillow that had completely rendered their poor couch useless and irrelevant. Wally was smothering him with soft fluffy blankets, his favorite, while the others piled in with snacks. This was nice, so Dick didn’t fight it. If he’d known that melodrama would get him a day off in the cuddle pile, then he would’ve done it sooner. He glanced at Wally again, blushing like a maniac, good thing nobody seemed to notice that slip up.</p>
<hr/><p>               Awake. All of a sudden, he was awake, for a moment that was all he knew. Then he knew pain, the burning in his lungs and the liquid flooding and bubbling in his ears. He tried to move, but he was stiff, it was like he weighed down by something that prevented him from moving. Instead, he tried to open his eyes, and all he saw was green. His eyes started to sting now as the burning in his lungs intensified.</p><p>               Panic started to fill his veins with adrenaline, he started thrashing as much as he could. Quickly he forced his limbs into cooperation. He swung his feet down through the liquid and was feet with cold stone at his feet, he could easily stand. He scrambled to stand and get his head above the surface. He accomplished this with a large splash and a choked gasp. His first attempt to breath was interrupted by the painful choking that forced the liquid out of his lungs. Only after that was he able to take a breath.</p><p>                Now breathing and halfway above the green liquid did the alpha attempt to survey his surroundings. Immediately his nose was bombarded with the scents of strangers, of threats. He snarled and looked around, his eyes still stung, but he could make out nearly a dozen figures surrounding him. He wasn’t safe here. He snarled at them as fiercely as he could. He swiveled around as he searched for an escape.</p><p>                He heard voices, but he didn’t have the mind to understand them, no now he was merely a cornered animal. He spotted a set of large windows, and looked back at the source of the voice. The figure made no move towards him, so he like the wild animal he currently was, he mad a mad dash for the window.</p><p>                When the other figures attempted to stop his he roared and dug his claws into them. Gouging out eyes and scratching at their faces until they fell.</p><p>                With his obstacles gone he threw himself through the window and was sent flying down into a ravine. He screamed as he soared down. He blacked out before he landed.</p><p>                He woke up to the sun shining in his face. He winced, his body ached and freezing water pooled at his legs. He was laying in the shore of a river. He’d escaped the strange figures, but he didn’t get a moment to relax because the scent of another alpha alerted him to a new threat. He looked over to the source and next to him was an alpha woman with dark hair and dark skin kneeled down beside him and a child wrapped to her chest. And that was the last thing he saw before his head stung and he blacked out once again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oof! It's been a while! I meant to update sooner, but ey things didn't work out that way. I had some trouble with this chapter. But in the end I'm happy with the end product since this chapter actually got a lot of revisions. Luckily chapter 4 is already started.</p><p>Also Dick gets a lot of attention this chapter! Didn't mean for him to get such special treatment, but he this fic is getting a sequel that centers around him and wally. So this is some set up for that.</p>
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